2006 Kyoto Prize to Len Herzenberg!

The 2006 Kyoto Prize for Advanced Technology will be awarded to Dr. 
Leonard Herzenberg for "Outstanding contribution to life sciences 
with the development of a flow cytometer that uses 
fluorescently-labeled monoclonal antibodies."  Please see the 
official announcement at 
<http://www.inamori-f.or.jp/e_topics_060609.html>.

This is a very prestigious award, and recognizes the enormous impact 
that Len has had on science and public health over his career. 
Clearly the FACS, as Len first termed it, has transformed not only 
immunology, but nearly all fields of cell biology.  With the advent 
of HIV disease in the 1980's, flow cytometry made its impact on 
clinical research and medicine; in recent years, it has made a huge 
impact in a widening number of medical fields and thereby is having a 
direct and beneficial impact on health management.  These advances 
can all be traced back to the pioneering technology efforts of Len 
and Lee Herzenberg and their crew, beginning in the 1960's and 
continuing to this day.

Having trained in the Herzenberg laboratory, I am particularly 
pleased with this recognition of Len.  I learned much in their 
laboratory -- not just flow cytometry and immunology -- but also a 
philosophy of science and research that is generous, open, and 
thereby productive -- a philosophy that underlies the great success 
and productivity of his group, and one that all of us who have 
trained in the laboratory take with us and express in our own 
laboratories.  It is an honor to be a part of the greater Herzenberg 
family.

Len's contributions to immunology and science go far beyond the FACS, 
and I hope those can be similarly recognized in due course.  But for 
now, please join me in congratulating Len on this singular 
recognition of his lifelong achievements!

mr


PS, send your congratulations in writing (email to 
lenherz@darwin.stanford.edu); I am sure that the phones will be 
ringing off the hook already!

-- 
_____________________________________________
Mario Roederer, Ph.D.
Chief, ImmunoTechnology Section and Flow Cytometry Core
Vaccine Research Center, NIAID, NIH
40 Convent Dr., Room 5509
Bethesda, MD 20892-3015
Phone: 301 594-8491
FAX: 301 480-2651