Sir Peter Brian Medawar

Sir Peter Brian Medawar , 1915-87, British zoologist, b. Brazil. After graduate work at Oxford, he held research and teaching posts there. He was professor of zoology (1947-51) at the Univ. of Birmingham and in 1951 became professor of zoology and comparative anatomy at University College, London. During World War II, he discovered a method for joining ends of severed nerves; he later became noted for his experimental work in transplanting living tissue from one body to another. Working on a theory proposed by Sir Macfarlane Burnet , he proved it was possible under certain circumstances for an organism to overcome its normal tendency to reject foreign tissue or organs. Medawar was awarded the 1960 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine jointly with Sir Macfarlane Burnet for this discovery of acquired immunological tolerance. He was knighted in 1965. A prolific writer, his works include The Art of the Soluble (1967), Advice to a Young Scientist (1979), and an autobiography (1986).

Medawar, Sir Peter Brian (1915–87) British zoologist, b. Brazil. He shared the 1960 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine with Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet for their discovery of acquired immune tolerance. Medawar confirmed that if foreign tissue is introduced in the embryonic stages of development it may be reintroduced later without inducing a negative response from the immune system.