An immunologist born in west suburban Elmhurst is among the trio of researchers awarded the Nobel Prize in medicine Monday for their research on how the human immune system determines its targets.

Fred Ramsdell, an Elmhurst native, shared the prestigious award with Dr. Shimon Sakaguchi and Mary Brunkow for their work on peripheral immune tolerance, the system that explains how the immune system knows not to attack the body’s healthy cells.

“Their discoveries have been decisive for our understanding of how the immune system functions and why we do not all develop serious autoimmune diseases,” said Olle Kämpe, chair of the Nobel Committee at the Swedish Karolinska Institute, in a news release.

The committee said the trio’s work opened a new scientific field and aided the development of ne

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