Paul Ichiro Terasaki was born on September 10, 1929, and died on January 25, 2016.
He was a American scientist and philanthropist.
He was a noted scientist in the field of human organ transplant technology and Professor Emeritus of Surgery at UCLA School of Medicine.
Paul spent three high school years during World War II interned with his family and other Japanese Americans in the Gila River War Relocation Center.
Following that he earned his bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate, in zoology all from UCLA and was appointed to the medical school faculty.
Paul Terasaki produced the microcytotoxicity test, in 1964, a tissue-typing test for organ transplant donors and recipients that required only 1 microliter each of antisera used to identify human leukocyte antigens (HLA).
The test was approved as the international standard for tissue typing.
Paul has focused on the study of the humoral theory of transplant rejection, which states that antibodies cause allograft rejection.
Mr.Terasaki and his corporation, One Lambda, have played a central role in the development of tissue typing and transplantation surgery.
He founded the UCLA’s HLA laboratory, and also established the UCLA Kidney Transplant Registry, the largest in the world.
He retired from UCLA in 1999, but inside a year resumed his academic pursuits with the invention of the Terasaki Foundation, a research center donated to cancer immunotherapy and the study of humoral immunity and transplantation.
Upon May 13, 2010, UCLA announced the naming of the new life science building for Paul, who has given $50 million to the Division of Life Sciences in the UCLA College of Letters and Science, which is the largest ever given to the UCLA College.
The building is known as the Terasaki Life Sciences Building.
Paul was awarded the 2011 UCLA Edward A. Dickson Alumnus of the Year award on April 13, 2012, and the UCLA medal on June 15, 2012.
His wife was artist Hisako Terasaki; they have four children.
Paul Terasaki passed away at 86 yrs old after a long illness.