Yoshinori Ohsumi - 2016 Noble Prize Recipient in Medicine
Profile
Yoshinori Ohsumi is a renowned Japanese cell biologist who specializes in autophagy. He is also a professor at the Frontier Research Center, a part of the Tokyo Institute of Technology.
Professor Ohsumi is best-known today for receiving the 2016 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his innovative breakthroughs in understanding the mechanisms for autophagy.
Childhood
Yoshinori Ohsumi was born on the 9th of February in 1945 in Fukuoka prefecture in Japan. In 1967, at the age of 22 years, Ohsumi went on to receive a B. Sc. degree from University of Tokyo. In 1974, he went on to receive a D.Sc. Degree from the University of Tokyo.
Career
From 1974 to 1977, Ohsumi stayed in New York City where he was a post-doctoral fellow at the Rockefeller University. In 1977, Ohsumi returned to the University of Tokyo and started his stint as a Research Associate. In 1986, Ohsumi was appointed on a full lectureship and promoted as Associate Professor two years later in 1988.
In 1996, Ohsumi moved to the National Institute for Basic Biology located in Okazaki City, Japan where he was appointed as a full time professor. For around 5 years, from 2004 to 2009, Ohsumi was also a professor in Hayama, Japan at the Graduate University for Advanced Studies.
Since 2006, Professor Ohsumi has gained the status of Professor Emeritus at 2 different places: at the Graduate University for Advanced Studies and at the National Institute for Basic Biology, while being a Professor at the Advanced Research Organization, Integrated Research Institute, which is a part of the Tokyo Institute of Technology.
Ever since his retirement in 2014, he has been a Professor at the Institute of Innovative Research, a part of the Tokyo Institute of Technology till recently. Today, Professor Ohsumi heads the Cells Biology Research Unit at the Tokyo Institute of Technology’s Institute of Innovative Research.
Achievements
For his extensive work in cell biology, Professor Ohsumi has received the 2016 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
Apart from this, Professor Ohsumi is also the proud recipient of:
- 2005 Fujihara Award from the Fujihara Foundation of Science
- 2006 Japan Academy Prize from the Japan Academy.
- 2009 Asahi Prize from Asahi Shimbun.
- 2012 Kyoto Prize for Basic Science.
- 2015 Gairdner Foundation International Award.
- 2015 International Prize for Biology.
- 2015 Keio Medical Science Prize
- 2015 Rosenstiel Award
- 2016 Wiley Prize in Biomedical Sciences
These awards put Professor Ohsumi amongst the most elite biologists in the world.
Awards
- 2016
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Nobel Prize
