Nobel Winner Hiking Off the Grid' in Idaho Has No Idea He Just Won the Prize: Living His Best Life'

"One of three scientists just awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Medicine has no idea that he just won because, according to friends, he's living his best life hiking off the grid somewhere in Idaho. The Nobel committee has so far failed to contact Fred Ramsdell, whose work on the immune system helped revolutionize treatments for autoimmune diseases. His colleague and friend Jeffrey Bluestone, co-founder of Sonoma Biotherapeutics in San Francisco, confirmed he's also been unable to reach him."

"I have been trying to get a hold of him myself. I think he may be backpacking in the backcountry in Idaho, Bluestone told AFP. Ramsdell shares the award with Mary Brunkow of Seattle and Japan's Shimon Sakaguchi, whose pioneering research identified the immune system's regulatory T-cells. Their discoveries formed the basis for a new field in immunology, opening the door to potential therapies now in clinical trials."

"Brunkow, too, proved elusive at first, as the committee struggled to reach both U.S.-based winners, nine hours behind Stockholm. I asked them to, if they have a chance, call me back, said Thomas Perlmann, secretary-general of the Nobel committee, describing the scramble to notify laureates before the news went public. Sakaguchi first uncovered the regulatory T-cell in 1995. Ramsdell and Brunkow later built on his work, identifying the key genetic mechanisms behind immune tolerance."

Fred Ramsdell, one of three recipients of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Medicine, remains unreachable while reportedly backpacking off-grid in Idaho. Ramsdell shares the award with Mary Brunkow and Shimon Sakaguchi for work on regulatory T-cells that established a new field in immunology and paved the way for autoimmune disease therapies now in clinical trials. The Nobel committee and colleagues struggled to notify the U.S.-based winners across time zones. Sakaguchi first discovered regulatory T-cells in 1995. Ramsdell and Brunkow later identified genetic mechanisms that govern immune tolerance. Previous laureates have also been hard to reach.

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