Sachs, Leo

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SACHS, LEO

SACHS, LEO (1924– ), Israeli geneticist. Sachs was born in Leipzig, Germany, and in 1933 immigrated to England with his parents following Hitler's accession to power. He received his doctorate from Cambridge in 1951 and in 1952 came to Israel as a research scientist at the Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot. He initiated research on various aspects of biomedical sciences and established the Department of Genetics and Virology. He was appointed associate professor in 1960 and full professor in 1962. His research pioneered new approaches to basic and medically applied aspects of stem cell biology, development, hematology, and oncology, and led to new therapies. His honors include the Israel Prize for natural sciences (1972), the Rothschild Prize in biological sciences (1977), the Wolf Prize in medicine (1980), and the emet Prize for life sciences, medicine, and genetics (2002). He is a member of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, a foreign associate of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and a fellow of the Royal Society, London, since 1997.

[Bracha Rager (2nd ed.)]