World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!
Rolf M. Zinkernagel

Rolf M. Zinkernagel

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Immunology
Switzerland
2026
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Medicine
Switzerland
2023

D-Index & Metrics

Immunology

D-Index
141
Citations
77412
World Ranking
157
National Ranking
2

Medicine

D-Index
141
Citations
77412
World Ranking
1617
National Ranking
20

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2026 - Research.com Immunology in Switzerland Leader Award
  • 2025 - Research.com Immunology in Switzerland Leader Award
  • 2023 - Research.com Medicine in Switzerland Leader Award
  • 2022 - Research.com Immunology in Switzerland Leader Award
  • 2022 - Research.com Medicine in Switzerland Leader Award
  • 2019 - Distinguished Fellows of the American Association of Immunologists (AAI)
  • 1998 - Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
  • 1998 - Fellow of the Royal Society, United Kingdom
  • 1996 - Member of the National Academy of Sciences
  • 1996 - Nobel Prize for their discoveries concerning the specificity of the cell mediated immune defence
  • 1995 - Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research, Lasker Foundation
  • 1994 - German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina - Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina – Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften Microbiology and Immunology
  • 1989 - Member of Academia Europaea
  • 1986 - Canada Gairdner International Award
  • 1983 - Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize
  • Member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO)
  • Member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO)
  • Member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO)
  • Member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO)

Overview

Rolf M. Zinkernagel is affiliated with the University of Zurich in Switzerland. Throughout their career, the scientist has been recognized with several notable awards and memberships in prestigious organizations.

Zinkernagel received the Nobel Prize in 1996 for discoveries concerning the specificity of the cell mediated immune defence. Prior to this, they were awarded the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research in 1995. Earlier recognitions include the Canada Gairdner International Award in 1986 and the Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize in 1983.

The scientist has been elected as a member or fellow of several esteemed societies, including the National Academy of Sciences (1996), the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1998), the Royal Society of the United Kingdom (1998), and the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO). Zinkernagel has also been a member of Academia Europaea since 1989 and the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina - Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina - Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften since 1994, specifically in Microbiology and Immunology.

The scientist's contributions are primarily situated within fields related to immunology and microbiology, indicated by their memberships and awards. While specific recent papers, publication venues, co-authors, book publications, fields, subfields, and main topics of study are not listed, their recognition across multiple scientific institutions demonstrates an active involvement in these areas.

Best Publications

  • Functional role of type I and type II interferons in antiviral defense.

    Ulrike Müller;Ulrich Steinhoff;Luiz F. L. Reis;Silvio Hemmi

  • Cytotoxicity mediated by T cells and natural killer cells is greatly impaired in perforin-deficient mice

    David Kägi;Birgit Ledermann;Kurt Bürki;Peter Seiler

  • Impaired immune and acute-phase responses in interleukin-6-deficient mice

    Manfred Kopf;Heinz Baumann;Giulia Freer;Marina Freudenberg

  • Immune response in mice that lack the interferon-gamma receptor.

    Sui Huang;Wiljan Hendriks;Alana Althage;Silvio Hemmi

  • A Primitive T Cell-Independent Mechanism of Intestinal Mucosal IgA Responses to Commensal Bacteria

    Andrew J. Macpherson;Dominique Gatto;Elizabeth Sainsbury;Gregory R. Harriman

  • Virus persistence in acutely infected immunocompetent mice by exhaustion of antiviral cytotoxic effector T cells

    Demetrius Moskophidis;Franziska Lechner;Hanspeter Pircher;Rolf M. Zinkernagel

  • Mice lacking the tumour necrosis factor receptor 1 are resistant to TNF-mediated toxicity but highly susceptible to infection by Listeria monocytogenes

    Joachim Rothe;Werner Lesslauer;Hansruedi Lötscher;Yolande Lang

  • Ablation of "tolerance" and induction of diabetes by virus infection in viral antigen transgenic mice.

    Pamela S. Ohashi;Stephan Oehen;Kurt Buerki;Hanspeter Pircher

  • T-cell receptor V beta use predicts reactivity and tolerance to Mlsa-encoded antigens.

    H. Robson MacDonald;Reto Schneider;Rosemary K. Lees;Rawleigh C. Howe

  • Tolerance induction in double specific T-cell receptor transgenic mice varies with antigen

    Hanspeter Pircher;Kurt Bürki;Rosemarie Lang;Hans Hengartner

  • Control of early viral and bacterial distribution and disease by natural antibodies.

    Adrian F. Ochsenbein;Thomas Fehr;Claudia Lutz;Mark Suter

  • Induction and Exhaustion of Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis Virus–specific Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes Visualized Using Soluble Tetrameric Major Histocompatibility Complex Class I–Peptide Complexes

    Awen Gallimore;Ann Glithero;Andrew Godkin;Alain C. Tissot

  • Immunology taught by viruses

    Rolf M. Zinkernagel

  • Evidence for a differential avidity model of T cell selection in the thymus

    Philip G. Ashton-Rickardt;Antonio Bandeira;Joseph R. Delaney;Luc Van Kaer

  • The influence of antigen organization on B cell responsiveness

    Martin F. Bachmann;Urs Hoffmann Rohrer;Thomas M. Kündig;Kurt Bürki

  • Molecular Mechanisms of Lymphocyte-Mediated Cytotoxicity and Their Role in Immunological Protection and Pathogenesis In Vivo

    David Kägi;Birgit Ledermann;Kurt Bürki;Rolf M. Zinkernagel

  • Specificity of Virus‐Immune Effector T Cells for H‐2K or H‐2D Compatible Interactions: Implications for H‐Antigen Diversity

    P. C. Doherty;R. V. Blanden;R. M. Zinkernagel

  • On the cellular source and function of interleukin 6 produced in the central nervous system in viral diseases.

    Karl Frei;Ursula V. Malipiero;Thomas P. Leist;Rolf M. Zinkernagel

  • Immunodeficiency and chronic myelogenous leukemia-like syndrome in mice with a targeted mutation of the ICSBP gene.

    Thomas Holtschke;Jürgen Löhler;Yuka Kanno;Thomas Fehr

  • Natural antibodies and complement link innate and acquired immunity

    Adrian F Ochsenbein;Rolf M Zinkernagel

Frequent Co-Authors

Hans Hengartner
Hans Hengartner University of Zurich
Otto Haller
Otto Haller University of Freiburg
Peter Deplazes
Peter Deplazes University of Zurich
Johannes Eckert
Johannes Eckert University of Zurich
Bernhard Odermatt
Bernhard Odermatt University of Zurich
Martin F. Bachmann
Martin F. Bachmann University of Bern
Hanspeter Pircher
Hanspeter Pircher University of Freiburg
Karl S. Lang
Karl S. Lang University of Duisburg-Essen
Adriano Aguzzi
Adriano Aguzzi University of Zurich
Burkhard Ludewig
Burkhard Ludewig University of Zurich

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