When Jacques Miller was thirty years old he solved a mystery that had confounded medicine for centuries: he discovered the function of the thymus, a human organ whose purpose had long remained unknown. His breakthrough transformed biology and laid the foundations for modern immunology.

Miller spent his childhood moving between France, Switzerland and wartime Shanghai before adopting a new home in Australia. Driven to medical research by his sister's early death from tuberculosis, his life was marked by further tragedy, including the deaths of his two children from a genetic disease. In the face of this grief Miller paired his passion for inquiry with a lifelong devotion to art and creativity.

Miller's insights into the thymus, T cells and lymphocytes reshaped medicine and biology and remain central to clinical practice today. His myriad honours include the Lasker Award, Japan Prize, Copley Medal and Fellowship of the Royal Society - but not the elusive Nobel Prize, which many of his fellow scientists believe he deserved. Jacques Miller reveals the story behind that omission.