McGill alumnus Ralph Steinman passed away on Friday, Sept. 30, after a long struggle with pancreatic cancer. He was 68. The following Monday, the Nobel Prize committee announced that Steinman, who had conducted research at New York’s Rockefeller University until his death, was awarded the 2011 Nobel Prize in Medicine alongside American scientist Bruce Beutler, and Luxembourg-born Jules Hoffmann. At the time of the announcement, the committee was unaware of Steinman’s untimely death.

Steinman, like his co-awardees, had dedicated his life to researching the immune system. When he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, he used his own body to experiment and research possible cures.

He removed a piece of the cancerous tumour, and trained his immune cells to hunt down any remains of it that may have been missed during the surgical procedure.

Dr. Sarah Schlesigner, who collaborated with Steinman on the experiment, told the BBC that training his immune cells to attack the tumour invoked a powerful immune response, and it is believed that this allowed Dr. Steinman to live longer than was expected. Unfortunately, his experiment was ultimately unsuccessful and he lost his battle with the disease.

While it has been years since Steinman studied at McGill, his affiliation with the institution continues to be cited routinely in reports of his death.

“McGill University gets a mention in reports around the world because Steinman got his undergraduate degree here. Although it is unrealistic, we will take some credit for his achievements,” Joe Schwarcz, director of McGill’s Office for Science and Society, said. “Maybe we were able to interest him enough to provide stimulation towards a research career. But I suspect he would have done well no matter where he did his undergrad,” Schwarcz said.

Heather Munroe-Blum, principal and vice-chancellor of McGill, issued a public statement on Steinman’s death.

“On behalf of McGill University, I wish to extend our profound condolences to the family and friends on the passing of one of our eminent alumni, Dr. Ralph Steinman, whose share of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Medicine was announced just days after his death,” read the statement. “Dr. Steinman’s outstanding work in immunology and his discovery of the key role dendritic cells play in immune processes has led to a number of significant potential therapies for a variety of diseases, including cancer.”