Leon Eisenberg

Leon Eisenberg (1922–2009) was an American child psychiatrist and medical educator who served as the Maude and Lillian Presley Professor of Social Medicine and Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He is best known for conducting some of the first rigorous studies of autism, attention deficit disorder, and learning delays, as well as for pioneering early clinical trials demonstrating the efficacy of stimulant medications for hyperactive children. He also advocated for social justice in medicine, helping establish affirmative action policies at Harvard Medical School and founding its Department of Social Medicine and Health Policy.