Molecular biology => FOXP3 protein, T cell biology

Mary Brunkow is a molecular biologist and immunologist. Her work helps scientists design treatments that can either boost regulatory T cells to calm harmful autoimmune attacks or reduce their activity to strengthen defenses against tumors.

She is known for co-identifying a gene named FOXP3 as the cause of the scurfy mouse phenotype, a finding that became foundational for modern regulatory T cell biology. The discovery also informs organ transplant strategies and the search for biomarkers in immune disease.

Born in 1961 and raised in Portland, Oregon, US., Brunkow attended St. Mary’s Academy before earning a BS in Cell and Molecular Biology from the University of Washington. She went on to complete MS and PhD degrees in Molecular Biology at Princeton University. Following her graduate studies, she conducted post-doctoral research at the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute (now the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute) in Toronto under Dr. Alan Bernstein.

In 1994, Brunkow joined Darwin Molecular Corporation, a pioneering gene-discovery biotechnology start-up. She continued working there through successive transitions until the Bothell site’s closure in 2003, contributing to landmark discoveries that advanced molecular immunology and paved the way for her later Nobel-recognized work.

In 2006, she joined the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle (ISB) as a Science Writer in Dr. Alan Aderem’s laboratory, helping communicate complex systems biology findings to broader audiences. She later served as Associate Director of Program Management at Trubion Pharmaceuticals (2008-2009) before returning to ISB in 2009 as Program Manager, Genetics, a position she continues to hold.

Brunkow was recognized with a Nobel Prize in 2025, along with Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi for groundbreaking discoveries illuminating the mechanisms of peripheral immune tolerance, including the identification of the FOXP3 gene and regulatory T cells’ central role in preventing autoimmune disease.

It was an amazing team effort back when we did the work. It takes a bunch of different brains all working on it together, for sure.

Outside the lab she has mentored younger scientists and managed complex research programs that connect genetics, patient data, and systems biology. Her life shows how steady laboratory work can have major clinical impact decades later.