Leonard Herzenberg (1931–2013) Immunologist Who Pioneered Cell-Sorting Technology

COMMENT OBITUARY Leonard Herzenberg (1931–2013) Immunologist who pioneered cell-sorting technology.

eonard Herzenberg, together with his biochemist César Milstein on his technology wife and scientific partner of more to fuse cells. They created cell lines that pro- than 60 years, Leonore, transformed duce made-to-order antibodies which attach Limmunology. His accomplishments con- to specific markers on cell surfaces. tinue to influence every aspect of modern Len recognized the power of this tech- biological science. nology to identify specific proteins and cell Were it not for Herzenberg, researchers populations. Lee coined the term ‘hybridoma’

might still be waiting for fast, precise ways for a class of workhorse lab cells, a combina- SCHOOL OF MEDICINE STANFORD to count and sort cells. That task, now rou- tion of an antibody-producing white blood tine, is essential for working out how cancers cell and an immortal tumour cell. and tissues grow, and for diagnosing certain Although Herzenberg’s patents are among diseases. Herzenberg also developed tech- Stanford’s highest earning, he believed that nologies to create monoclonal antibodies — any scientific advance belonged to the lab-produced versions of the proteins used people who had funded it; that is, to the by the immune system to recognize danger- public, whose taxes supported his grants. ous cells and toxins. These are now deployed He asked co-inventors of flow cytometry in laboratories for innumerable assays, and to assign patent royalties back to the lab. He in humans for certain cancers, infections and freely shared resources that his laboratory inflammatory diseases. developed, providing researchers from other Herzenberg, who died on 27 October labs with reagents, cell lines, data and infor- aged 81, was born in New York City. After mation, sometimes well before publication. graduating in 1952 from Brooklyn College This collaborative philosophy was appreci- in New York, he began doctoral studies ated by scientists worldwide. It also helped in genetics at the California Institute of to accomplish his primary goal: more-rapid Technology in Pasadena, joining a depart- advances. ment that included seven future Nobel Throughout his career, Herzenberg was laureates. Among this auspicious group, In the 1960s, after moving to California actively involved in sociopolitical causes. Herzenberg blossomed scientifically and, to work at Stanford University, Herzenberg His early exposure to the dangers of the along with Leonore, whom he had met at recognized the need for an automated, high- anti-intellectualism and misinformation Brooklyn College, he also became politi- throughput method to enumerate and sep- of McCarthyism seeded a lifelong commit- cally active. Len and Lee, as they were arate rare cells in a population of millions. ment to bringing rational thought to public known, worked with a chemist down the Such technology could be used, for example, discourse. He railed against proponents of hall — Linus Pauling, who himself would to explore whether individual immune cells eugenics and nuclear proliferation, and, in go on to win two Nobel prizes — to start a made one or several kinds of antibodies, or later years, against those who stigmatized local chapter of the Federation of American to identify those producing antibodies capa- people with HIV. Scientists that worked to combat the insidi- ble of killing cancer cells. He also supported efforts to promote ous efforts of McCarthyism in the 1950s, Herzenberg formed a team of engineers career opportunities and equality for among other goals. and biologists to take a machine that sorted women and minorities in science. The Her- After Len received his PhD, the Herzen- particles by size and enhance it with tech- zenbergs established programmes to bring bergs moved to Paris, where Len did a fel- niques to detect fluorescence and manipu- disadvantaged young people in California’s lowship at the Pasteur Institute with biologist late droplets. The result was modern flow San Francisco Bay Area to Stanford to learn and Nobel laureate Jacques Monod. Discus- cytometry — a way to count and separate about medical research. Lee continues this sions at lunch revolved alternately around viable cells in a stream of fluid lit by lasers tradition of balancing outreach with scien- bacterial genetics and the French Resist- that reveal fluorescent markers on the cells. tific research. ance. While abroad, Herzenberg was drafted Fluorescence-activated cell sorting (known Although Len is considered the father into the US peacetime army. He arranged as FACS) is now widely used in labs and hos- of modern flow cytometry, his contribu- to serve in the Public Health Service and pitals. For instance, FACS can isolate fetal tions extend far beyond that. He was a great moved to Bethesda, Maryland, to join the cells from maternal blood, which allows scientist, a great collaborator and a great lab of pathologist Harry Eagle at the US clinicians to perform genetic testing using a mentor. ■ National Institutes of Health. Here, Herzen- minimally invasive procedure. Remarkably, berg “carried a pipette rather than a gun” for the fundamental aspects of FACS have not Mario Roederer is senior investigator in his country. He helped to define the minimal changed in the more than 40 years since its the ImmunoTechnology Section, Vaccine components of the nutrient broth necessary invention. Research Center, US National Institute of to clone cells. More than a decade later, this Another ubiquitous technology also owes Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda, enabled him to produce antibodies in cell its existence to the Herzenbergs. In 1976, Maryland. He was in the Herzenbergs’ culture, a technology that generates billions on a sabbatical at the University of Cam- laboratory from 1988 to 1999. of dollars’ worth of drugs and lab reagents. bridge, UK, the Herzenbergs worked with e-mail: [email protected]