Imagine being out in the wild, surrounded by mountains, streams, and maybe even a grizzly bear, and then hearing you’ve just won a Nobel Prize. That’s exactly what happened to immunologist Fred Ramsdell.

Fred Ramsdell, 64, was enjoying a digital detox in the rugged backcountry of the western United States with his wife, Laura O’Neill, when the unexpected news arrived. As the couple stopped to fix something on their car, Laura’s excited yell made Ramsdell fear the worst, a grizzly nearby.

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But the “danger” was far sweeter: he had just won the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

The Swedish Nobel committee had been trying to reach Ramsdell for hours. His phone, naturally, was on airplane mode, as he had no intention of checking messages while hiking across Idaho, Wyo

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