San Francisco Chronicle - Friday, June 9, 2006
David Perlman, Chronicle Science Editor, dperlman@sfchronicle.com

Herzenberg, 74, has collaborated on research with his pediatrician wife, Lenore, since he began graduate school at the California Institute of Technology in 1952 and will receive a gold medal and 50 million yen -- about $446,000 -- during ceremonies in Japan in November.

The award was established by the Inamori Foundation, whose president, Kazuo Inamori, is the founder of Kyocera Corp., a major international conglomerate producing high-tech communications equipment. Two Japanese residents, Hirotugu Akaike, 78, a statistical mathematician, and Issey Miyake, 68, one of the world's leading fashion designers, are also being named as Kyoto Prize winners today.

Herzenberg's pioneering development, which he began in the 1960s as a young Stanford faculty member, is called the Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorter, known as FACS. Essential to the process called flow cytometry, the laser-driven device can rapidly identify, count, sort and study every type of human and animal cell. The device is now used in laboratories and hospitals around the world for developing new drugs against disease, for diagnosing illnesses, for cancer research, immunology, molecular biology and now in the promising new field of stem cell research.

The Herzenberg Laboratory at Stanford with its team of scientists remains the base for the joint research that both Herzenbergs continue intensively together. Clinical trials are under way at Stanford's medical center for a new drug the couple have developed to treat cystic fibrosis, a genetic disease involving severe and progressive lung inflammation.

"The FACS is one of the most important medical devices ever developed," Dr. Philip Pizzo, dean of the Stanford medical school, said in a statement Thursday. "It (has) provided fundamental insights into the impact of HIV on the immune system, and it has been a valuable tool for diagnosing, monitoring and treating HIV/AIDS, cancer and infectious diseases. Professor Herzenberg is truly one of the leading innovators in human biology of the 20th century."

"As an immunologist, I have often had cause to bless Len for his foresight and commitment," said David Baltimore, a Nobel laureate and president of Caltech. "So many experiments in modern immunology are possible only because of the FACS."

The Kyoto Prizes, now in their 22nd year, are awarded annually in the categories of advanced technology, basic sciences, and arts and philosophy. Herzenberg's award is for his work on the FACS that he began and then continued with several colleagues during years of inventions leading to advanced improvements in the technology.
060609
SC060621

Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2006. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.

AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.

Copyright ©1980, 2006. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .