Mary Brunkow

Mary Brunkow is a scientist who helps us understand how our bodies fight sickness. She was born in 1961 in Portland, Oregon. When she was young, science and math were mostly done by men. But Mary loved science, and people helped her learn more.

Mary went to the University of Washington. She studied biology there and finished her first degree in 1983. Later, she went to a famous school called Princeton University. She studied very hard and earned her Ph.D., a top science degree, in 1991. She learned how to study genes, which are like tiny instruction books inside our bodies.

After finishing school, Mary worked at a biotech company near Seattle. There, she studied special mice called scurfy mice. These mice had bad skin problems and got very sick because their bodies attacked themselves. Nobody knew why this happened.

Mary worked with a scientist named Fred Ramsdell. Together, they looked closely at the mices' genes. They found a special gene that was broken in the sick mice. This gene is now called FOXP3. In 2001, Mary and her team shared this discovery with the world.

This was a huge deal! FOXP3 controls special cells called regulatory T cells, or Tregs. Tregs act like referees inside our bodies. They stop our immune system from attacking our own healthy cells. When FOXP3 doesn't work right, the body can't control itself, and it gets sick.

Mary also studied a rare human sickness that made bones grow too much. She helped find the gene that caused it. This discovery later helped scientists make new medicine for weak bones.

Mary and Fred also found that when the FOXP3 gene breaks in people, it causes a serious sickness called IPEX. Boys with IPEX get very sick because their immune systems attack their own bodies. Mary's work helped doctors understand and find this disease.

Because of all this hard work, Mary changed how scientists think about the immune system. Her discoveries help doctors today. They are used to study diseases like diabetes, help people who get organ transplants, and even fight cancer.

In 2025, something amazing happened. Mary won the Nobel Prize, one of the biggest awards in the world! She shared it with Fred Ramsdell and another scientist named Shimon Sakaguchi. The prize was for their discoveries about how the immune system stays balanced and doesn't hurt itself.

Mary received her prize in December 2025 in Stockholm, Sweden. People celebrated her journey from a public school student to a world-famous scientist.

Not much is known about Mary's personal life. She likes to keep her work the main focus. She still works in Seattle at a place called the Institute for Systems Biology. She continues to study the immune system and share her ideas with other scientists.

Mary Brunkow's discoveries changed science forever. She helped the world understand how our bodies protect themselves the right way. Her work continues to help sick people all over the world.