1916-

French immunologist who discovered the genetic cause of blood and tissue incompatibility and the mechanism by which the body recognizes its own cells. Dausset hypothesized that patients who had immunological reactions to blood transfusions did so because of specific variations they carried in their genes. He eventually isolated that gene, which he termed HLA (human leucocyte antigen). Dausset was awarded 1980 Nobel Prize for Medicine, which he shared with George Snell and Baruj Benacerraf.