How does Elie Metchnikoff relate to the investigator of today?

Elie Metchnikoff (Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov, 1845-1916) was a Russian-born (born in Kharkiv, current Ukraine) zoologist who shared the Nobel Prize with Paul Ehrlich in 1908 "in recognition of their work on the theory of immunity." This description hardly gives credit to the important observations of Metchnikoff and how they served as the basis of modern thinking in immunology. In 1882, while in Messina, Sicily, Metchnikoff observed that the introduction of a rose thorn induced the influx of phagocytic cells in starfish larvae. The "phagocytosis theory" resulting from this simple experiment along with Metchnikoff's genius served not only as the eventual basis of the discipline of innate immunity, but also the entire field of immunology, in which a system of cells and their products is considered to play an active role in host defence by recognising and destroying pathogenic microorganisms. Metchnikoff was clearly a flawed genius who led a rich and complex life, including insightful experimentation, scientific debate, the evolution of ideas, personal change, loss and growth, and a willingness to explore new ideas. As such, his personal characteristics are relevant to today's scientists, students, and scholars.