Peter Medawar

Peter Medawar was a pioneering biologist and immunologist whose groundbreaking work on the immune system and tissue rejection laid the foundational principles for modern organ transplantation. Born in Brazil to a Lebanese father and a British mother, he was educated at Magdalen College, Oxford, where he developed his keen scientific intellect. For his discovery of acquired immunological tolerance, he was jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1960 with Frank Macfarlane Burnet, revolutionizing the field and enabling the development of clinical transplant surgery.

Early life and education

He was born in Petrópolis, a city in the state of Rio de Janeiro, where his father worked as a businessman. Sent to England for his education, he attended Marlborough College before winning a scholarship to study zoology at Magdalen College, Oxford. At Oxford, he was influenced by the embryologist John Zachary Young and developed a lasting interest in experimental biology. His early research focused on cell growth and the effects of antiseptics on tissue culture, work he conducted under the supervision of Howard Florey, who would later win a Nobel Prize for his role in developing penicillin.

Research on transplantation and immunology

His most significant contributions began during World War II, when he was commissioned by the Medical Research Council to investigate severe burns and the problems of skin graft rejection for injured Royal Air Force personnel. Working with Thomas Gibson at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary, he meticulously demonstrated that graft rejection was an immune response, not a biochemical process. This led to his seminal collaboration with Rupert E. Billingham and Leslie Brent at the University of Birmingham, where they proved Burnet's theory of immunological tolerance by successfully grafting skin between genetically non-identical cattle twins. Their famous 1953 paper, published in the journal *Nature*, showed that injecting mouse embryos with cells from a different strain could induce lifelong acceptance of subsequent skin grafts, a state they termed "actively acquired tolerance."

Awards and honors

In recognition of his transformative discoveries, he was jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1960 with Frank Macfarlane Burnet. His other major honors included the Royal Medal from the Royal Society in 1959 and its highest award, the Copley Medal, in 1969. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1949 and served as its President from 1969 to 1970. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1965, becoming Sir Peter Medawar. He also received numerous honorary degrees from institutions like Harvard University and the University of Cambridge.

Later life and legacy

After holding professorships at the University of Birmingham and University College London, he became Director of the National Institute for Medical Research at Mill Hill in 1962. A series of strokes in 1969 severely impaired his health, but he continued to write prolifically, authoring influential books like *The Art of the Soluble* and *Advice to a Young Scientist*. His work directly enabled the success of human kidney transplantation and later heart transplant procedures performed by surgeons like Christiaan Barnard. The principles of tolerance he established remain central to immunosuppressive drug therapies and ongoing research in stem cell and bone marrow transplantation.

Personal life and death

He married fellow scientist Jean Shinglewood Taylor in 1937, and they had two sons and two daughters; their daughter Caroline Medawar became a noted historian. Known for his wit, eloquence, and commitment to the public understanding of science, he was a regular broadcaster for the BBC. After his debilitating strokes, he and his wife moved to a house provided by the Royal Society in Hampstead. He died in London on 2 October 1987 after suffering a final cerebral hemorrhage and was buried at Alfriston in Sussex.

Category:British immunologists Category:Nobel laureates in Physiology or Medicine Category:Recipients of the Copley Medal