2024

Project Director Yasushi Kawaguchi Receives the 5th Toyoichi Otawara Memorial Award　

Prof. Yasushi Kawaguchi (Project Director) received the 5th Toyoichi Otawara Memorial Award. This award is given to researchers who have made outstanding achievements in the fields of infectious diseases and hematology, and whose research is expected to continue to progress in the future. He was given the award for his work in the molecular basis of herpesvirus infection. For more details, please refer to the related URL below.

2023

Project Professor Yoshihiro Kawaoka Is Selected as a Person of Cultural Merit for 2023.　

Project Prof. Yoshihiro Kawaoka was selected as a Person of Cultural Merit for 2023.　He was awarded an official Japanese recognition and honor for his outstanding contributions to the field of virology. The list of the Persons of Cultural Merit for 2023 is available at the following URL (in Japanese).

2022

Project Professor Yoshihiro Kawaoka Receives the 27th Keio Medical Science Prize 2022　

Project Prof. Yoshihiro Kawaoka has been awarded the 27th Keio Medical Science Prize 2022. This prize is awarded to researchers who have made outstanding and creative achievements in the fields of medicine and life sciences and are expected to contribute to global advancements in the future. He received the award for his research on understanding viral pathogenicity for the control of pandemic infectious diseases. For more details, please refer to the related URL below.

Associate Professor Akihisa Kato Receives the IMSUT Outstanding Young Investigator Award 2022　

Dr. Akihisa Kato (Assosiate Professor; a cooperating scientist) received the IMSUT Outstanding Young Investigator Award 2022. This award is presented to young investigators at IMSUT who have made significant contributions to the advancement of basic and clinical research, the social implementation of medical science research, and the dissemination of advanced medical care. The reason for the award to Dr. Kato is that he has devoted his research career to the study of herpesviruses. He has made a significantly contribution to the elucidation of viral proliferation and pathological expression mechanisms in herpesvirus, including the discovery of the importance of a TLR3-mTORC2 axis in the brain’s defence against infections. For further details, please refer to the related URL below.

Discovery of a New Cell Entry Pathway of SARS-CoV-2 and Their Inhibitors
〜Expectations for the Elucidation of the Complex Pathogenesis of COVID-19 and the Development of Therapeutic Drugs〜

Project Senior Assistant Professor Mizuki Yamamoto and Project Associate Professor Jin Gohda of IMSUT Research Center for Asian Infectious Diseases, and Emeritus Professor Jun-ichiro Inoue of UT found that SARS-CoV-2 infects cells by utilizing a proteolytic enzyme called metalloproteinase due to several different characteristics of the spike protein compared to other coronaviruses. They also have shown that several metalloproteinase inhibitors, whose safety was previously confirmed in clinical trials, effectively inhibit this pathway and suppress viral infection-dependent cell fusion and cell death associated with COVID-19 pathology (Released on June 16, 2022). For details（in Japanese）, click the URL below.

2021

Project Director Y. Kawaguchi Receives Hideyo Noguchi Memorial Award for Medical Sciences

Prof. Yasushi Kawaguchi (Project Director) received the 64th Hideyo Noguchi Memorial Award for Medical Sciences. This award is given to individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to medical research particularly relevant to Dr. Hideyo Noguchi’s studies during his lifetime. Prof. Kawaguchi was given the award for his work in the molecular biological study of the growth and pathogenesis of herpes virus.

2020

Nafamostat, Medicine for Pancreatitis, Likely Prevents SARS-CoV-2 Infection

Professor Jun-ichiro Inoue and Assistant Professor Mizuki Yamamoto of IMSUT Research Center for Asian Infectious Diseases have identified Nafamostat as a potent inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19. Nafamostat is a serine protease inhibitor in clinical use to treat pancreatitis. It blocks the membrane fusion, an essential early step of viral infection, at less than a one-tenth effective concentration with Camostat Mesilate, which was recently found by a German group. Thus, Nafamostat would be a promising candidate to fight COVID-19. (Released on March 18, 2020) For details, click the URL below.

2018

Dr. J. Arii Receives Sugiura Incentive Award

Dr. Jun Arii (Assistant Professor; a cooperating scientist) received the 2018 Sugiura Incentive Award from the Japanese Society for Virology. He was awarded for his studies of the cell invasion and particle formation processes of herpes simplex virus. This award is given to young scientists under 40 years old who accomplished a distinguished achievement in Virology.

Project Director Y. Kawaguchi Receives Saburo Kojima Memorial Award

Prof. Yasushi Kawaguchi (Project Director; IMSUT Vice Dean) received the 54th Saburo Kojima Memorial Award from the Kurozumi Medical Foundation for his studies of growth and pathogenesis of herpes simplex virus. This award is given to a scientist who accomplished a distinguished achievement of academic research in studies of pathogenic microbiology, infectious diseases, public health or other related fields; thus contributing to science, as a culture, in Japan. The award ceremony is going to be held on Friday, 26 October 2018, at 11:00 a.m. at Tokyo Kaikan on the 39th floor of the World Trade Center Building.

2017

Prof. Hualan CHEN Honored with Membership of Chinese Academy of Sciences

Prof. Hualan CHEN at the Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, who has conducted collaborative research on influenza with Prof. Yoshihiro Kawaoka of IMSUT, was honored with the membership of CAS known as “Academician” this year. This award is the highest national honor for life, for Chinese scientists. Prof. Chen is a leading researcher in China on avian influenza and serves an advisory committee member for OIE - the World Organization for Animal Health.

Prof. Tao XU Honored with Membership of Chinese Academy of Sciences

Prof. Tao XU, former Director-General of the Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, (IBPCAS), who helped promote collaborative research between IBPCAS and IMSUT during his tenure, was honored with the membership of CAS known as “Academician” this year. This award is the highest national honor for life, for Chinese scientists. Prof. Xu’s studies focus on the dynamic molecular mechanisms of membrane transport. Meanwhile, he also serves as Vice President of the University of CAS and Principal Investigator of National Laboratory of Biomacromolecules.

Project Associate Professor Seiya Yamayoshi Receives a Young Scientists’ Prize for Science and Technology from MEXT

Dr. Seiya Yamayoshi (Project Associate Professor of the AMED supported program) was chosen by the MEXT (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) for a Commendation for Science and Technology 2017. He was awarded for his studies of the host proteins involved in intracellular transport of RNA viruses, under the category of “The Young Scientists’ Prize”, which is given to a scientist under 40 years old having a remarkably high capacity for research and development.

Assistant Professor Jun Arii Receives a Young Scientists’ Prize for Science and Technology from MEXT

Dr. Jun Arii (Assistant Professor; a cooperating scientist) was chosen by the MEXT (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) for a Commendation for Science and Technology 2017. He was awarded for his studies of HSV pathogenesis under the category of “The Young Scientists’ Prize”, which is given to a scientist under 40 years old having a remarkably high capacity for research and development.

2016

Nafamostat Inhibits Membrane Fusion Mediated by MERS Corona Virus and Blocks the Virus Infection In Vitro

Jun-ichiro Inoue (Professor), Mizuki Yamamoto (Project Researcher), Zene Matsuda (Project Professor) and their project co-workers identified nafamostat as a potent inhibitor of　MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) corona virus S-mediated membrane fusion, by using the split protein-based cell-cell fusion assay. Nafamostat was found to block the virus infection in Vitro . This paper was published on August 22, 2016.
For details (in Japanese), click the URL below.

NIKKEI Reports on IMSUT’s Joint Project in Beijing

The activities of the joint project between IMSUT and CAS (Chinese Academy of Sciences) were introduced in the morning NIKKEI June 1, 2016, including research on HIV-1.

Prof. Yasushi Kawaguchi Accepts the 4th Terumo Foundation Award

Dr. Yasushi Kawaguchi (Director; Research Center for Asian Infectious Diseases) accepted the 4th Terumo Foundation Award as announced on March 22, 2016. This yearly award was established in 2012 by the Terumo Foundation for Life Sciences and Arts to recognize and support an individual who has received a General R & D Subsidy and achieved the most outstanding study conducted in Japan for the year. For 2016 selection of Dr. Kawaguchi, four areas were chosen from the General R & D Subsidies: Advanced Medical Materials; Next Generation Medical Devices / Artificial Organs; Preventive Medicine. For more details, please refer to the following website.

Prof. Yoshihiro Kawaoka Honored with the Japan Academy Prize

Dr. Yoshihiro Kawaoka (Research Center for Asian Infectious Diseases) was awarded the Japan Academy Prize as announced on March 14, 2016. This Prize, launched in 1910, is awarded every year by the Academy to researchers who have achieved notable research landmarks or authored particularly outstanding academic papers or books. Dr. Kawaoka was selected in recognition of his remarkable contribution to the studies of molecular basis for the pathogenicity of influenza virus and its control. For details, please visit the following website.

2015

Prof. Xiyun YAN Honored with Membership of the Chinese Academy of Sciences

Prof. Xiyun YAN at the Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, (IBPCAS), who has helped promote collaborative research between IBPCAS and IMSUT for more than 10 years since 2005, was honored with the membership of CAS on December 7.
Academician represents the highest national honor for Chinese scientists. Prof. Yan was selected in the division of life and medical sciences in recognition of her remarkable contributions to the nano-biology field.

Prof. Hualan Chen Was Awarded a 2016 L’Oreal-UNESCO For Women in Science Award

Prof. Hualan Chen at the Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, who has helped promote collaborative research in China of the IMSUT Research Center for Asian Infectious Diseases over the years, was awarded the 2016 L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Awards. The ceremony will be held on 24 March 2016 in Paris, France.
The L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Awards program was created in 1998 to identify and support eminent women in science throughout the world. Each year, five laureates, one each from the 5 regions (Africa & the Arab States, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America, North America), are recognized for their contributions to the advancement of science, in life science or physics in alternating years. Each of the five laureates will receive an award of €100,000. They are selected by an independent and international jury of the prominent scientists in the international scientific community.
Prof. Chen was awarded for her outstanding contribution to the studies of avian influenzavirus, leading to the development and use of an effective vaccine.

Prof. George F. Gao Was Awarded a Foreign Minister's Commendation for FY 2015

Professor George F. Gao at the Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, (IMCAS), who has helped promote collaborative research in China of the IMSUT Research Center for Asian Infectious Diseases over the years, was awarded a Foreign Minister's Commendation for FY 2015.
The Foreign Minister's Commendations are awarded to individuals and groups with outstanding achievements in international fields, as an acknowledgement of their contributions to promoting friendship between Japan and other countries and areas.
Dr. Gao was awarded the Commendation for his remarkable contributions to promoting the research collaboration between IMSUT and IMCAS and academic exchange between Japan and China since 2005.
On January 20th, 2016, the award certificate was presented to Dr. Gao by Mr. Masato Kitera, Japanese ambassador to China, at the ambassador’s office in Beijing.