Leonard
Herzenberg, a researcher at Stanford University who has
developed a cell-sorting technology that plays a key
role in AIDS research, has been named the recipient of
Japan's Kyoto Prize for lifetime achievement in
medical research, the San Francisco Chronicle
reports. The prize is Japan's equivalent of the Nobel
Prize. Herzenberg, a geneticist and immunologist, was
honored for his development of the
fluorescence-activated cell sorter (FACS), a
laser-driven device that identifies, sorts, counts, and
analyzes every type of cell in a sample. The device is
used worldwide at laboratories and hospitals, and it
plays a key role in antiretroviral drug research and
in monitoring the impact of HIV on the human immune system.
Herzenberg will receive the prize in November at a ceremony
to be held in Japan. (The Advocate)