Emeritus Professor Leslie Baruch Brent was a world-renowned British-German Jewish immunologist and zoologist. He earned his PhD from University College London (UCL) and was Professor Emeritus of Immunology at St Mary’s Hospital Medical School (now part of Imperial College London). He also served as President of the Transplantation Society.
Born in Germany, Brent escaped to the UK in 1938 at age 13 via the Kindertransport. His parents and sister were subsequently murdered by the Nazis in concentration camps. His transition from a child refugee to a British soldier and then a world-class scientist informed his lifelong commitment to human rights and anti-racism.
Professional Achievements: Alongside Peter Medawar and Rupert Billingham, Brent co-discovered acquired immunological tolerance in the 1950s. This discovery proved that the immune system could be trained to accept foreign tissue, making organ transplantation possible. His 1953 paper in Nature remains a cornerstone of biological science. While Medawar received the Nobel Prize for this work, Brent is widely recognized as a key architect of the experimental success.
As a veteran member of Jews for Justice for Palestinians (JfJfP), he was a vocal critic of the occupation, arguing that Israeli state policies betrayed Jewish ethical values. Beyond Palestine, he was deeply involved in anti-nuclear and anti-war movements, believing science must serve human welfare rather than destruction.
He demonstrated his moral compass in a letter to a Zionist: ……the Israeli soldiers who are currently engaged in what I regard as war crimes against the civilian Palestinian population. This military action by your government, like so many others that went before it, is totally out of proportion to whatever crimes a few Palestinians, whose identity still remains to be established, have committed.