Noel Rose, Who Demonstrated Autoimmunity Exists, Dies at 92

The Johns Hopkins University researcher bucked the prevailing idea that the body would not launch an immune response against its own tissues, and in doing so established an entirely new scientific discipline.

amanda heidt
| 4 min read
Noel Rose, Immunology, Autoimmune Disease, John Hopkins University, University at Buffalo, Microbiology, Antigens

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ABOVE: JOHNS HOPKINS BLOOMBERG SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH

Noel Rose, an immunologist and microbiologist whose early experiments underpinned the molecular mechanisms of autoimmune disease, died of a stroke July 30. He was 92.

As a young medical student, Rose worked alongside his mentor, Ernest Witebsky of the University at Buffalo, studying organ-specific antigens. The prevailing hypothesis for the last half century had been that the body was incapable of producing antigens against itself, an idea known as horror autotoxicus. Witebsky’s own academic lineage stretched back to the idea’s original progenitor, Paul Ehrlich, who had coined the term in the late 19th century.

But Rose showed that rabbits injected with their own thyroid-derived antigens mounted an immune response against the invading molecules that damaged or destroyed the animals’ thyroid. The body was indeed capable of attacking itself. The results were so outlandish that the first journals refused to publish the findings, ...

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Meet the Author

  • amanda heidt

    Amanda Heidt

    Amanda was an associate editor at The Scientist, where she oversaw the Scientist to Watch, Foundations, and Short Lit columns. When not editing, she produced original reporting for the magazine and website. Amanda has a master's in marine science from Moss Landing Marine Laboratories and a master's in science communication from UC Santa Cruz.
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