Dr. Leon E. Rosenberg, a pioneer in the field of medical genetics, died on July 22 at his home in Lawrenceville, NJ. He was 89.

Dr. Rosenberg joined the faculty of the Yale School of Medicine in 1965. While at Yale, he led

research into inherited metabolic disorders, filling his lectures with stories of children who had presented inexplicable disorders. He repeatedly showed their causes to be their bodies’ inability to metabolize various acids, conditions that often could be easily treated. His research brought him public prominence, both as a researcher and as an advocate for equity in medicine,

As the dean of the Yale School of Medicine from 1984 to 1991, he paved the way for people of color and women to rise to senior faculty positions.