The Nobel Assembly has awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to Fred Ramsdell, PhD, co-founder and Scientific Advisory Board Chair of Sonoma Biotherapeutics, in recognition of his pivotal role in the discovery of FOXP3, a gene central to the development and function of regulatory T cells. This landmark finding transformed the field of immunology and laid the foundation for current therapeutic strategies targeting immune tolerance in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.
Congratulations to Fred Ramsdell, co-founder of SonomaBio, and a valued friend and colleague. Like many great scientists, Fred spent years working behind the scenes to identify the gene that caused devastating systemic autoimmune diseases in a little-known strain of mice. The discovery of the gene, FOXP3, changed our understanding of peripheral tolerance and led to a new field of immunotherapy.
Jeff Bluestone, PhD, Chief Executive Officer and President at Sonoma Biotherapeutics
Dr. Ramsdell’s contributions to understanding immune regulation span nearly three decades. His early investigations into T cell activation and tolerance identified FOXP3 as the master transcription factor governing Treg differentiation and function.
Alongside Dr. Alexander Rudensky, Dr. Ramsdell was previously recognized with the 2017 Crafoord Prize in Polyarthritis, acknowledging their shared discovery’s profound implications for autoimmune disease biology.
Dr. Ramsdell earned his PhD in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of California, Los Angeles, following a BSc in Biochemistry and Cell Biology from the University of California, San Diego. His postdoctoral work at the National Institutes of Health focused on gene regulation in T cell biology, which led him to subsequent leadership roles in industry. At Immunex, he advanced T cell gene discovery, later establishing the immunology program at Darwin Molecular (acquired by Celltech R&D), where his team identified FOXP3. Subsequent research leadership roles at ZymoGenetics and Novo Nordisk’s Inflammation Research Center furthered his impact on translational immunology.
Before co-founding Sonoma Biotherapeutics, Dr. Ramsdell served as Chief Scientific Officer at the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy (PICI), where he was instrumental in building collaborative research programs to advance immune-based cancer therapies.
At Sonoma Biotherapeutics, Dr. Ramsdell continues to guide the scientific direction of engineered regulatory T cell therapies, which aim to restore immune balance in patients with autoimmune and inflammatory disorders.