| Birth Name: | Leonard Arthur Herzenberg |
| Birth Date: | 1931 11, mf=y |
| Birth Place: | New York City, US |
| Death Place: | Stanford, California, US |
| Fields: | Immunology, genetics |
| Workplaces: | Stanford University Pasteur Institute |
| Alma Mater: | Brooklyn College California Institute of Technology |
| Thesis Title: | Studies on a Cytochrome Destroying System in Neurospora |
| Thesis Year: | 1956 |
| Thesis Url: | https://web.archive.org/web/20050319023509/http://herzenberg.stanford.edu/Herz/lenherz.htm |
| Doctoral Advisor: | Herschel K. Mitchell[1] |
| Known For: | Flow cytometry (FACS)[2] |
| Awards: | Kyoto Prize (2006) |
| Spouse: | Leonore Herzenberg |
| Children: | 4, including Jana |
Leonard Arthur "Len" Herzenberg (November 5, 1931 – October 27, 2013) was an immunologist, geneticist and professor at Stanford University. His contributions to the development of cell biology made it possible to sort viable cells by their specific properties.[3] [4] [5] [6] [7]
Herzenberg was born in New York City, on November 5, 1931. He received his bachelor's degree in 1952 from Brooklyn College in biology and chemistry. In 1955, he received his Ph.D. from California Institute of Technology in biochemistry with a specialization in immunology for studies on cytochrome in Neurospora.[1]
After school he was a postdoctoral fellow at the American Cancer Society, working in France at the Pasteur Institute. He returned to the United States in 1957 and worked for the National Institutes of Health as an officer in the Public Health Service department. He started working at Stanford in 1959. He eventually earned the title Professor of Genetics.[6]
In 1970 Herzenberg developed the fluorescence-activated cell sorter[2] [6] which revolutionized immunology and cancer biology, and is the basis for purification of adult stem cells.
During a sabbatical in the laboratory of Cesar Milstein between 1976 and 1977, Herzenberg coined the term hybridoma for hybrid cells that result from the fusion of B cells and myeloma cells.[8]
Herzenberg and his wife, Leonore Herzenberg,[3] ran the Herzenberg Laboratory at Stanford together[9] until his death. Their daughter, Jana Herzen, is a singer-songwriter and the founder of Motéma Music. He died on October 27, 2013, aged 81.[5]
Herzenberg received a range of honours and awards during his life including: