Most influential living immunologists

Requested by Wolfgang · October 28, 2026

We asked 10 models: The most influential immunologists who are alive today. Each named its own top 10.

Agreement between models: 33%
Same model, run twice: 62%
Different picks: 37

When agreement between models is well below a model's agreement with itself, the split reflects real differences in taste rather than randomness.

The consensus

We asked 10 models: The most influential immunologists who are alive today. Each named its own top 10.

Each cell is the position that model gave the pick; blank means it left the pick off. Click a row for each model's reasoning.

#	Pick	Listed by	Claude Haiku 5.5	GPT-6 Luna	Gemini 4 Argon	Qwen 3.8 Flash	DeepSeek V4.1 Flash	GLM-5.3	Kimi K3	MiniMax M3	Mistral Large 4	Nemotron 3.5 Super VL
1	James Allison	9/10	2	2	1	7	1	5	1	4	5
Gemini 4 Argon (#1) Pioneered CTLA-4 blockade, launching the revolutionary field of cancer immunotherapy. DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (#1) Pioneered CTLA-4 checkpoint blockade, launching modern cancer immunotherapy. Kimi K3 (#1) Nobel laureate whose checkpoint blockade work fundamentally reshaped cancer treatment worldwide. Claude Haiku 5.5 (#2) Pioneered CTLA-4 blockade, founding the checkpoint immunotherapy revolution with Honjo. GPT-6 Luna (#2) Pioneered cancer immunotherapy by establishing checkpoint blockade as a therapeutic strategy. MiniMax M3 (#4) Discovered immune checkpoint blockade; revolutionized cancer treatment. GLM-5.3 (#5) CTLA-4 checkpoint blockade pioneer; Nobel-winning cancer immunotherapy. Mistral Large 4 (#5) Nobel Prize for cancer immunotherapy through checkpoint blockade. Qwen 3.8 Flash (#7) Nobel-winning CTLA-4 work founded cancer immunotherapy field.
2	Anthony Fauci	8/10	1	1	9	1		1	5		2	1
Claude Haiku 5.5 (#1) Led NIAID for decades; shaped HIV, infectious disease, and pandemic policy worldwide. GPT-6 Luna (#1) Defined modern public-health immunology and shaped global HIV and pandemic policy. Qwen 3.8 Flash (#1) Defined modern immunology research and public health influence for decades. GLM-5.3 (#1) Decades leading NIAID; shaped HIV, biodefense, and COVID policy globally. Nemotron 3.5 Super VL (#1) Led global response to HIV/AIDS and COVID-19 as NIAID director. Mistral Large 4 (#2) Decades leading NIH infectious disease research and pandemic response guidance. Kimi K3 (#5) Decades-long leadership in infectious disease immunology and global public health policy. Gemini 4 Argon (#9) Led global research on HIV/AIDS and guided responses to multiple modern pandemics.
3	Tasuku Honjo	9/10	3	3	2	4	3	4	4	5	6
Gemini 4 Argon (#2) Discovered PD-1, transforming how modern oncology treats and cures lethal cancers. Claude Haiku 5.5 (#3) Discovered PD-1, enabling checkpoint inhibitor cancer immunotherapies and a Nobel Prize. GPT-6 Luna (#3) Discovered PD-1, enabling transformative checkpoint cancer treatments. DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (#3) Discovered PD-1, foundational to checkpoint inhibitor therapy. Qwen 3.8 Flash (#4) Nobel-winning PD-1 discovery launched checkpoint inhibitor era. GLM-5.3 (#4) Discovered PD-1, enabling transformative cancer immunotherapy. Kimi K3 (#4) Nobel laureate for PD-1 discovery, cornerstone of checkpoint inhibitor therapies. MiniMax M3 (#5) Discovered PD-1; co-pioneer of checkpoint immunotherapy. Mistral Large 4 (#6) Discovered PD-1 pathway, enabling breakthrough cancer immunotherapies.
4	Carl June	7/10		10	3	5	4		2	7	10
Kimi K3 (#2) Pioneered CAR-T cell therapy, revolutionizing cancer immunotherapy with curative clinical results. Gemini 4 Argon (#3) Pioneered CAR-T cell therapy, creating the first living drugs for blood cancers. DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (#4) Developed CAR-T cell therapy, transforming blood cancer treatment. Qwen 3.8 Flash (#5) Pioneered CAR-T cell therapy, transforming cancer immunotherapy. MiniMax M3 (#7) Pioneer of CAR-T cell therapy transforming cancer immunotherapy. GPT-6 Luna (#10) Helped bring CAR T-cell therapy into clinical practice. Mistral Large 4 (#10) Pioneered CAR-T cell therapy, revolutionizing cancer treatment.
5	Shimon Sakaguchi	5/10	4	9	4		9			1
MiniMax M3 (#1) Pioneer in regulatory T cells and immune tolerance mechanisms. Claude Haiku 5.5 (#4) Discovered regulatory T cells, reshaping understanding of immune tolerance and autoimmunity. Gemini 4 Argon (#4) Discovered regulatory T cells, transforming our fundamental understanding of immune tolerance and autoimmunity. DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (#9) Discovered regulatory T cells, reshaping immune tolerance.
6	Ralph Steinman	4/10				2	5	3	10
Qwen 3.8 Flash (#2) Discovered dendritic cells, revolutionizing adaptive immunity understanding. GLM-5.3 (#3) Nobel for dendritic cells; transformed understanding of immune initiation. Kimi K3 (#10) Discovered dendritic cells, though deceased 2011; lasting foundational influence on immunology.
7	Max Cooper	4/10	8			3		6		3
Qwen 3.8 Flash (#3) Foundational contributions to lymphocyte development and immune theory. MiniMax M3 (#3) Co-discoverer of B lymphocytes; shaped adaptive immunity understanding. GLM-5.3 (#6) Defined B and T cell lineages; foundational lymphocyte biology. Claude Haiku 5.5 (#8) Discovered B and T lymphocyte lineages, a foundational framework for adaptive immunology.
8	Drew Weissman	3/10		4	6						1
Mistral Large 4 (#1) Co-developed mRNA vaccine platform that saved millions of lives during COVID-19. GPT-6 Luna (#4) mRNA vaccine innovations reshaped vaccinology and pandemic response. Gemini 4 Argon (#6) Co-invented modified mRNA technology, fundamentally reshaping vaccinology and global public health.
9	Ruslan Medzhitov	4/10	5		8			7				2
Nemotron 3.5 Super VL (#2) Elucidated pattern recognition and innate immune sensing. Claude Haiku 5.5 (#5) Major contributions to innate immunity, including pattern recognition and inflammation biology.
10	Katalin Karikó	4/10		7	5				8		3
Mistral Large 4 (#3) Pioneered mRNA technology enabling revolutionary vaccines and therapeutics. Gemini 4 Argon (#5) Co-developed modified mRNA technology, enabling rapid COVID-19 vaccines and future therapeutics.
11	Charles Janeway	3/10				9	2	2
GLM-5.3 (#2) Pioneered innate immunity and pattern recognition theory shaping the field.
12	Bruce Beutler	4/10	6				7	8				3
Nemotron 3.5 Super VL (#3) Nobel laureate for TLR4 and innate immune activation. Claude Haiku 5.5 (#6) Identified TLR4 as LPS receptor and advanced innate immune sensing research.
13	Akiko Iwasaki	3/10			7					6	8
MiniMax M3 (#6) Leading researcher in innate immunity and mucosal/vaccine immunology. Gemini 4 Argon (#7) Advanced mucosal immunity research and led critical investigations into Long COVID pathogenesis. Mistral Large 4 (#8) Leading authority on innate immunity and viral pathogenesis.
14	Jules Hoffmann	2/10	7									4
Nemotron 3.5 Super VL (#4) Nobel laureate for Toll receptor innate immunity in flies. Claude Haiku 5.5 (#7) Nobel-winning work on innate immunity and Toll pathways in Drosophila.
15	Michel Nussenzweig	2/10							7		4
Mistral Large 4 (#4) Revolutionary work on broadly neutralizing antibodies and HIV research. Kimi K3 (#7) Groundbreaking work on antibody responses and broadly neutralizing antibodies for HIV.

22 lower-scoring picks are not shown; every ballot below lists them in full.

Most divisive

Picks most models listed, at very different positions

Anthony Fauci#1 for Claude Haiku 5.5 #9 for Gemini 4 Argon
Carl June#2 for Kimi K3 #10 for Mistral Large 4
Shimon Sakaguchi#1 for MiniMax M3 #9 for DeepSeek V4.1 Flash

Hot takes

Picks that appear on only one ballot

Jacques Miller at #2, only MiniMax M3
Robert Langer at #3, only Kimi K3
Susumu Tonegawa at #6, only Qwen 3.8 Flash
Marc Feldmann at #6, only DeepSeek V4.1 Flash
Rafael Casellas at #6, only Nemotron 3.5 Super VL
Shane Crotty at #7, only Mistral Large 4
Kathrin Jansen at #7, only Nemotron 3.5 Super VL
Ardul Shattner at #8, only Qwen 3.8 Flash
Zelig Eshhar at #9, only GLM-5.3
Jennifer Doudna at #9, only Kimi K3
Steven Rosenberg at #9, only MiniMax M3
Jeffrey Ravetch at #10, only Claude Haiku 5.5

Every ballot

Hover a pick to find it on the other ballots. Marked picks appear on no other ballot.

Claude Haiku 5.5

Anthony Fauci
James Allison
Tasuku Honjo
Shimon Sakaguchi
Ruslan Medzhitov
Bruce Beutler
Jules Hoffmann
Max Cooper
Rafi Ahmed
Jeffrey Ravetch

66% with consensus · 90% self-consistent · knowledge cutoff June 2026

GPT-6 Luna

Anthony Fauci
James Allison
Tasuku Honjo
Drew Weissman
Rafi Ahmed
Michel Sadelain
Katalin Karikó
Shizuo Akira
Shimon Sakaguchi
Carl June

60% with consensus · 88% self-consistent · knowledge cutoff May 18, 2026

Gemini 4 Argon

James Allison
Tasuku Honjo
Carl June
Shimon Sakaguchi
Katalin Karikó
Drew Weissman
Akiko Iwasaki
Ruslan Medzhitov
Anthony Fauci
Shizuo Akira

72% with consensus · 73% self-consistent · knowledge cutoff March 2026

Qwen 3.8 Flash

Anthony Fauci
Ralph Steinman
Max Cooper
Tasuku Honjo
Carl June
Susumu Tonegawa
James Allison
Ardul Shattner
Charles Janeway
Zena Wertheim

49% with consensus · 70% self-consistent · knowledge cutoff not published

DeepSeek V4.1 Flash

James Allison
Charles Janeway
Tasuku Honjo
Carl June
Ralph Steinman
Marc Feldmann
Bruce Beutler
Michel Sadelain
Shimon Sakaguchi
Charles A. Dinarello

66% with consensus · 17% self-consistent · knowledge cutoff not published

GLM-5.3

Anthony Fauci
Charles Janeway
Ralph Steinman
Tasuku Honjo
James Allison
Max Cooper
Ruslan Medzhitov
Bruce Beutler
Zelig Eshhar
Emil Unanue

47% with consensus · 83% self-consistent · knowledge cutoff not published

Kimi K3

James Allison
Carl June
Robert Langer
Tasuku Honjo
Anthony Fauci
Kizzmekia Corbett
Michel Nussenzweig
Katalin Karikó
Jennifer Doudna
Ralph Steinman

64% with consensus · 53% self-consistent · knowledge cutoff not published

MiniMax M3

Shimon Sakaguchi
Jacques Miller
Max Cooper
James Allison
Tasuku Honjo
Akiko Iwasaki
Carl June
Rolf Zinkernagel
Steven Rosenberg
Emmanuelle Charpentier

30% with consensus · 36% self-consistent · knowledge cutoff not published

Mistral Large 4

Drew Weissman
Anthony Fauci
Katalin Karikó
Michel Nussenzweig
James Allison
Tasuku Honjo
Shane Crotty
Akiko Iwasaki
Rolf Zinkernagel
Carl June

36% with consensus · 58% self-consistent · knowledge cutoff not published

Nemotron 3.5 Super VL

Anthony Fauci
Ruslan Medzhitov
Bruce Beutler
Jules Hoffmann
Emmanuelle Charpentier
Rafael Casellas
Kathrin Jansen
Shizuo Akira
Kizzmekia Corbett
Peter Doherty

22% with consensus · 49% self-consistent · knowledge cutoff not published

Who agrees with whom

Overlap between two models' lists, weighted toward the top · 100 means identical · Color runs from 1 (lightest) to 74 (darkest)

	Claude Haiku 5.5	GPT-6 Luna	Gemini 4 Argon	Qwen 3.8 Flash	DeepSeek V4.1 Flash	GLM-5.3	Kimi K3	MiniMax M3	Mistral Large 4	Nemotron 3.5 Super VL
Claude Haiku 5.5		74	48	52	39	61	38	29	33	51
GPT-6 Luna	74		47	50	39	53	40	19	46	38
Gemini 4 Argon	48	47		21	61	20	63	33	28	4
Qwen 3.8 Flash	52	50	21		28	69	28	28	30	36
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash	39	39	61	28		47	56	21	13	3
GLM-5.3	61	53	20	69	47		24	19	33	42
Kimi K3	38	40	63	28	56	24		20	25	8
MiniMax M3	29	19	33	28	21	19	20		16	1
Mistral Large 4	33	46	28	30	13	33	25	16		21
Nemotron 3.5 Super VL	51	38	4	36	3	42	8	1	21