Herman Eisen, professor emeritus of biology, dies at 96
Herman Eisen, a professor emeritus of biology and founding member of the MIT Center for Cancer Research, died Nov. 2 at age 96. Over a 70-year career, Eisen forged a path as a pioneering immunologist whose research has significantly shaped the field. He joined the MIT faculty in 1973, having been recruited as a founding member of MIT’s Center for Cancer Research (now the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research). Eisen retired from MIT in 1989, albeit only in the official sense: As a professor emeritus, he maintained an active laboratory and continued to research, publish, and advise students and postdocs until his passing. In all, Eisen spent 41 years at MIT, during which he taught, mentored, and collaborated with thousands of students, faculty members, and staff. Early years Born in 1918 in Brooklyn, N.Y., Eisen developed a keen interest in science at an early age, when a high-school chemistry class helped frame his...