A Talk with Rolf M. Zinkernagel,1996 Nobel Laureate
Rolf M. Zinkernagel, a member of the Executive Committee of the Wiley-VCH periodical, European Journal of Immunology, was awarded the 1996 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine together with Peter C. Doherty. In joint research projects, the two immunologists discovered in the early seventies that white blood cells can only help in the resistance to viral infections and many other processes in the complex immune system network if they work together with certain surface structures.
Recently, Mr. Zinkernagel sat down for an interview with Wiley
Wiley: What led you to study medicine?Zinkernagel: For a long time, I was unsure whether I should study chemistry or medicine. Finally I chose medicine since there are so many directions you can go in after completing your studies.
Wiley: Why did you decide to become an immunologist?
Zinkernagel: After my studies I worked in surgery, but I didn't find this area very satisfying so I looked for something new and -- more or less by accident -- ended up in immunology.
Wiley: What made you go to Australia to conduct your research?
Zinkernagel: The answer is simple: in Lausanne, I was doing research on some bacterial intestinal infections and the immune response to them. I needed a laboratory where I could work on other intestinal infections, above all salmonella and listeria. In Australia, I had the opportunity to do this.
Wiley: After a few years "down under" you returned to Switzerland. Why did you take this step?
Zinkernagel: Well, after Australia, I first went to California, where I worked in the Scripps Clinic. I didn't think that I would ever return to Switzerland because it's difficult for scientists to find employment there. But then a position became available at the University of Zurich and, of course, I couldn't say no. I'm very happy here.
Wiley: Your research has provided a new basis for the treatment of such serious diseases as multiple sclerosis and rhematoid arthritis. For cancer, too?
Zinkernagel: Yes, you could say that. In research, first you learn the basics. They lay the foundation for many new aspects -- and as a result have an enormous influence on future ways of treatment.
Wiley: Currently you're working on juvenile diabetes. Have there been any new findings in this area?
Zinkernagel: Juvenile diabetes is only one of many topics. But yes, there have been new findings. Actually, we're exploring the idead or concept that an infection is found at the beginning of a so-called autoimmune disease and that this infection cuases something to be destroyed or stimulated. After a certain time, this triggers off the so-called autoimmune disease. If we didn't know that there was an infectious agent, then we would say that this immunologically cuased disease is an autoimmune one -- whereby pathogenetically it often cannot be distinguished from an ill-balanced immune response that causes disease. If we can prove this, then maybe many diseases could be prevented with vaccines.
Wiley: Genetic engineering is crucial to your research. Will you be able to influence the future of genetic engineering in Switzerland?
Zinkernagel: I'll be able to influence it inasmuch as I am a Swiss citizen and can place my vote. For me it is far more a question of explaining to the Swiss -- and perhaps now that I am in a betterposition to to do this -- what genetic engineering really is so that they will no longer be so much afraid of it. There is no point in simply forbidding something; what is important is to provide the public with information. Moreover, I hope that decision on genetic engrineering are regulated through the law and not through prohibition fixed in the constitution.
Wiley: What plans do you have for your future?
Zinkernagel: I'd like to follow the path that I have just described. there is still so much to do. Maybe chronic disease, degenerative diseases, autoimmune disease, etc., are indeed a consequence of infectious diseases and inflammations. If this can be proved, then we would have an exceptionally good new possibility to act preventively. And that is my goal.