Fred Ramsdell, one of the three scientists who won the 2025 Nobel Prize in Medicine, found out about his life-changing achievement in a rather unusual way. While camping deep in the wild with his wife, he had no idea that the world was trying to reach him with big news.
When his wife finally checked her phone, what she thought was a sign of danger — possibly a grizzly bear — turned out to be something much more surprising: her husband had just won the Nobel Prize.
How Fred Ramsdell Found Out
According to Thomas Perlmann, Secretary-General of the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute, Ramsdell could not be reached immediately after the Nobel announcement on October 6. He was completely off-grid, enjoying a camping and hiking trip.
Perlmann said it wasn’t until Tuesday morning that he finally managed to contact Ramsdell. “They were still in the wild and there are plenty of grizzly bears there, so he was quite worried when she let out a yell,” Perlmann told Reuters. “Fortunately, it was the Nobel Prize. He was very happy and elated and had not expected the prize at all.”
The Work That Won the Nobel Prize
Fred Ramsdell shared the 2025 Nobel Medicine Prize with Mary Brunkow and Shimon Sakaguchi. Their groundbreaking research revealed how the body’s immune system avoids attacking its own healthy cells — a process known as immune tolerance.
The trio’s work focused on a special type of immune cell called regulatory T-cells. These cells play a vital role in preventing autoimmune diseases, where the immune system mistakenly targets the body’s own tissues.
In 1995, Sakaguchi first identified this new class of immune cells. Later, in 2001, Ramsdell and Brunkow expanded on that discovery, explaining how these cells function to maintain immune balance. Their findings opened doors to new areas of medical research and clinical trials for autoimmune disorders, organ transplants, and even cancer treatment.
A Light-Hearted Nobel Moment
This year’s Nobel announcement adds another interesting story to the award’s history. There have been several unusual reactions over the years. In 2016, Bob Dylan famously ignored his Nobel Prize in Literature for weeks. In another case, in 2011, it was discovered that a medicine prize winner had passed away just days before the announcement.
For Ramsdell, the discovery came with a mix of humor and happiness. His story of finding out about the Nobel Prize in the wilderness is already being called one of the most memorable moments in recent Nobel history.
