Snell, George D.

Snell, George D. (Davis) (1903–  ) immunogeneticist; born in Bradford, Mass. He taught zoology at Dartmouth (1929–30), then performed research at the University of Texas (1933–34), where his studies on mice first demonstrated the mutagenic effects of X-rays on mammals. He moved to Washington University (St. Louis) (1933–34), then joined the Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, Maine (1935). There, using inbred strains of mice, he discovered the genetic histocompatibility locus, a group of closely associated genes responsible for transplant acceptance. This breakthrough won him one-third the 1980 Nobel Prize in physiology. After his retirement from Jackson (1968), he remained as a consultant and continued to contribute to scientific publications.