The year was 1980, and Dr. Fauci was a rising star, eventually one of the brightest lights in immunology. Since 1972, he’d been on a quest to figure out how to deal with what he calls “aberrant” immune system responses. He meant situations in which the immune system attacks the body.
He’d done extensive pioneering work on medicines that help dampen the immune system when it attacks the body. “We had to calm down the immune system by suppressive agents without necessarily suppressing it so much they were susceptible to infection,” he said.
During this period, Dr. Fauci hadn’t put so fine a point on it, but he was helping define a new identity for immunology. For many years, the field had viewed the immune system as something poised to “attack, seek, and destroy.”
Dr. Fauci could see that this was just half of the equation—in fact, well less than a full definition.
At its core, what the immune system was doing wasn’t simply seeking and destroying. Instead it was looking for a balance—between attacking and neutralizing real dangers and showing sufficient restraint such that its potency didn’t destroy the body. In 1980, Dr. Fauci helped capture this pivot in immunology by naming a new lab at the NIH. He called it the Laboratory of Immunoregulation.
Mark the moment. The story of the immune system became the story of homeostasis—a state of harmony or stability. This is what makes our defense so elegant. It is a system precisely and delicately tailored to stay in balance, keep the peace, and do as little damage as possible to us and our surroundings.
This balance is central to our health, as you’ll see momentarily in the lives of four individuals you’ll soon meet again—Bob, Linda, Merredith, and Jason.
First, though, I will introduce you to three wise men and a discovery that turned the science of immunology into healing medicine. This was the point of practicality for the long-opaque world of immunology, a turning point where the decades of science became lifesaving treatment.