St. Mary's Academy Alumna Wins Nobel Prize
- 10/08/25
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
St. Mary’s Academy alumna Mary E. Brunkow ’79 won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discoveries in peripheral immune tolerance on Monday, as announced by a panel at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.
A molecular biologist at the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, Brunkow was one of three scientists honored for their research, along with San Francisco-based Fred Ramsdell and Dr. Shimon Sakaguchi from Osaka University in Japan.
At St. Mary’s Academy, the news of Brunkow’s achievement has reverberated throughout the halls among students and faculty.
“We are so proud of this incredible achievement by one of our own,” St. Mary’s Academy President Emily Becker said. “Her groundbreaking work is a testament not only to her brilliance and perseverance but also to the values she carried with her from her time here — intellectual curiosity, compassion, and a deep commitment to others.”
As a Catholic all-girls school guided by the mission and charism of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, St. Mary’s Academy celebrated Brunkow’s achievements in medicine on the Feast Day of Blessed Mother Marie-Rose Durocher, the changemaking SNJM foundress whose life of service inspired countless young women to join the order.
In the same way the spirit of Mother Marie-Rose can be recognized in Brunkow’s accomplishment, we celebrate the embodiment of a St. Mary’s girl changing the world.
St. Mary's Academy Alumna Wins Nobel Prize
- 10/08/25
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
St. Mary’s Academy alumna Mary E. Brunkow ’79 won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discoveries in peripheral immune tolerance on Monday, as announced by a panel at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.
A molecular biologist at the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, Brunkow was one of three scientists honored for their research, along with San Francisco-based Fred Ramsdell and Dr. Shimon Sakaguchi from Osaka University in Japan.
At St. Mary’s Academy, the news of Brunkow’s achievement has reverberated throughout the halls among students and faculty.
“We are so proud of this incredible achievement by one of our own,” St. Mary’s Academy President Emily Becker said. “Her groundbreaking work is a testament not only to her brilliance and perseverance but also to the values she carried with her from her time here — intellectual curiosity, compassion, and a deep commitment to others.”
As a Catholic all-girls school guided by the mission and charism of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, St. Mary’s Academy celebrated Brunkow’s achievements in medicine on the Feast Day of Blessed Mother Marie-Rose Durocher, the changemaking SNJM foundress whose life of service inspired countless young women to join the order.
In the same way the spirit of Mother Marie-Rose can be recognized in Brunkow’s accomplishment, we celebrate the embodiment of a St. Mary’s girl changing the world.