Baruj Benacerraf

Immunologist, born in Caracas, Venezuela. He moved to Paris with his family (1925) and emigrated to the USA (1940). After his medical internship and US Army service (1945–8), he joined Columbia University (1948–50). He performed research in Paris (1950–6), relocated to New York University (1956–68), moved to the National Institutes of Health (1968–70), then joined Harvard (1970–91), concurrently serving the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston (1980). He began studies of allergies in 1948, and discovered the Ir (immune response) genes that govern transplant rejection (1960s). In 1972 he demonstrated the existence of T and B lymphocytes. He shared the 1980 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for his contributions to cellular immunology, continued his T-cell research, and remained active in many professional societies.

Baruj Benacerraf (born 29 October 1920) is a Venezuelan-American immunologist who shared the 1980 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the "discovery of the Major histocompatibility complex genes which encode cell surface molecules important for the immune system's distinction between self and non-self". He then went on to attain the degree of Doctor of Medicine from the Medical College of Virginia, the only school to which he was accepted. After his medical internship and US Army service (1945–48), he became a researcher at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons (1948–50). He performed research in Paris (1950–6), relocated to New York University (1956–68), moved to the National Institutes of Health (1968–70), then joined Harvard University(1970–91), concurrently serving the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston (1980).

In 1990, Benacerraf also received National Medal of Science for his contributions to the world of medicine.