A History of Modern Immunology

Dr. Nagy, a world-leading immunologist, previously held positions as Scientific Member of the Basel Institute of Immunology, Deputy Director of the Max-Planck-Institute for Biology in Tuebingen, Project Leader in Preclinical Research at Novartis in Basel and most recently as Department Head of Immunology at Hoffmann-La Roche in Nutley. Dr. Nagy's research into the major histocompatibility complex has resulted in over 140 papers in peer-reviewed journals. He's actively contributed to immunology research from 1970 to 2006 and is an author of over 150 research publications (mostly in high impact international journals). He's directly contributed to the majority of sub disciplines, the history of which is described in this book. He personally knows almost all prominent scientists in immunology including 8 Nobel Laureates. This background put him uniquely into the position of writing up the history of immunology in the last third of the twentieth century with authenticity and insider details.He's significantly contributed to the genetics of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), to the MHC-association of autoimmune diseases, and to different aspects of T cell biology. Formerly, he was a member of the Basel Institute for Immunology, deputy director at the Department of Immunogenetics, Max-Planck-Institute of Biology, Tübingen, Germany, head of the Immunology Department, Hoffmann La Roche Inc., Nutley, NJ, USA, and head of research at GPC-Biotech Inc., Munich, Germany. Also is a former editorial board member of “Immunogenetics”, and “Human Immunology”.

"...lively in part because, at its core, it recognizes the human and subjective side of doing science...constitutes an enthusiastic and warm account of immunological progress...The human engagement in his account makes the scientific issues more understandable, their significance more apparent and fascinating." --Journal of the History of Biology, A History of Modern Immunology"…introduces each of the ten sections with some level of background or historical context, beginning with the discovery of DNA rearrangement in the generation of antibody diversity and finishing with the concepts of immune tolerance and autoimmunity…also explains the significance of specific experiments. Summing Up: Recommended." --Choice, July 2014"An immunology industry insider surveys the recent history of the branch of life sciences that studies immune system functions and summarizes major discoveries resulting from immunological research conducted since 1970. The chronicle describes the clarification of immunoglobulin structure, the interaction of antibody with antigen, the mechanisms for generation of antibody diversity, the T-cell antigen receptor, and the nature of its ligand.." --ProtoView.com, January 2014

• Introductory Words about Science, Scientists, and ImmunologyPart One: Pre-History with Far-reaching Consequences1 The immunological revolution Part Two: The History 2 A very special location: the basel institute for immunology 3 Immunological specificity 4 Monoclonal antibodies: the final proof for clonal selection 5 The first victory of molecular biology: mechanisms of the generation of antibody diversity 6 The major histocompatibility complex 7 Antigen processing and presentation 8 The intricate behaviour of t cells 9 Acquired immunological tolerance 10 Autoimmunity Concluding Remarks