Nancy Ruddle, professor emerita in the division of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases at the Yale School of Public Health, received the 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Cytokine Society at its annual meeting in Lisbon, Portugal in October. This award is given annually to one scientist who has contributed in a sustained way to research on cytokines.
“It was a great honor to be recognized by my peers in this group, which has done so much to promote the discovery of cytokines, and their functions in health and disease,” said Ruddle.
Cytokines, proteins released by cells within the immune system, are critical to regulating the body’s immune response.
Dr. John Sims, chairman of the society’s Honors and Awards Committee, presented the award to Ruddle in recognition of her groundbreaking research on lymphotoxin, a cytokines released by the white blood cells that was one of the first cytokines to be identified. Ruddle had described lymphotoxin in her thesis in 1968, when she was a Ph.D. student in microbiology at Yale.
“Dr. Sims talked about how Lisbon is a site of explorers and discovery, and how I have exemplified that spirit of discovery in my work,” she said.
Established in 1988, the International Cytokine Society (ICS) consists of members who have research, clinical or educational experience in the field of cytokines or in an allied discipline. The ICS promotes original research in the fields of cytokines and fosters communication between scientists to encourage multidisciplinary approaches.
Professor Ruddle’s research focuses on lymphotoxin and other cytokines in autoimmune diseases and lymphoid organ development. She served as president of ICS from 2001-2002.