Leon Wofsy (November 21, 1921 – August 25, 2019) was an American

biochemist Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. They study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. Biochemists study DNA, proteins and Cell (biology), cell parts. The word "biochemist" is a portmanteau of ...

, activist, and educator. He was the department chair and

professor emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

Immunology Immunology is a branch of medicineImmunology for Medical Students, Roderick Nairn, Matthew Helbert, Mosby, 2007 and biology that covers the medical study of immune systems in humans, animals, plants and sapient species. In such we can see there ...

in the Department of Bacteriology and Immunology at

University of California, Berkley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant univ ...

Early life

Wofsy was born in

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut, outside of Manhattan. It is Connecticut's second-most populous city, behind Bridgeport. With a population of 135,470, Stamford passed Hartford and New Haven in population as of the 2020 ...

, on November 21, 1921. In 1942 he graduated from

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...

In September 1943, after graduation he was selected into the US Army.

Career

Leon led the

Communist party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

-affiliated Labor Youth League from its founding in 1949 to 1956. Leon fought against racism and war and for free speech. After leaving communist party in 1956, Leon worked as a chemist at Armstrong Rubber Co. before being appointed as a teacher at North Branford High School. He resumed graduate studies at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

in September 1958 and graduated with a PhD in

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

in May 1961. After several rejections, he joined the faculty at the University of California in Berkeley in 1964. Leon pioneered

medical research Medical research (or biomedical research), also known as experimental medicine, encompasses a wide array of research, extending from "basic research" (also called ''bench science'' or ''bench research''), – involving fundamental scientif ...

for use of antibodies to deliver efficient treatments precisely to the site of disease. He died on August 25, 2019.

Personal life

Leon married Rosalind "Roz" Taub in 1942. They had two children, Carla Wofsy, who died of breast cancer in 2003, and David Wofsy. Leon has four grand children, Danielle, Grace, Kevin, and Susan. At the age of 88 Roz died on April 23, 2009. On November 4, 2010, Leon married Gail M. Weininger.

References

1921 births 2019 deaths University of California, Berkeley faculty Yale University alumni American activists American biochemists City College of New York alumni {{improve categories, date=October 2022