Nationality Japanese Role Professor Alma mater Osaka University Education Osaka University | Known for Toll-like receptors Fields Immunology Name Shizuo Akira | |
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Born January 27, 1953
Higashiosaka ( 1953-01-27 ) Institutions Department of Host Defense, Osaka University, Japan. Notable awards See Recognition and Awards section Awards Gairdner Foundation International Award, Robert Koch Prize, Keio Medical Science Prize Similar People Jules A Hoffmann, Bruce Beutler, Tadamitsu Kishimoto, Toshio Hirano, Shigekazu Nagata | ||
Plenary lecture shizuo akira jpn
Shizuo Akira (審良 静男, Akira Shizuo) (born January 27, 1953 in Higashiōsaka) is a professor at the Department of Host Defense, Osaka University, Japan. He has made ground-breaking discoveries in the field of immunology, most significantly in the area of innate host defense mechanisms.
Contents
- Plenary lecture shizuo akira jpn
- MENDEL LECTURES Shizuo Akira Functional Diversity of MacrophageMonocyte Subsets 19102017
- Education
- Research
- Career history
- Recognition
- References
MENDEL LECTURES / Shizuo Akira / Functional Diversity of Macrophage/Monocyte Subsets / 19.10.2017
Education
Shizuo Akira gained a M.D. in School of Medicine from Osaka University in 1977. In 1984 he earned a PhD from Osaka University. Till 1987, he did post-doctoral research at University of California, Berkeley.
Research
Beside being the world's most-cited scientist, he has also been recognised, in the years 2006 and 2007, as having published the greatest number of ‘Hot Papers’ (11 papers) over the preceding two years. He is the recipient of several international awards, including the Gairdner Foundation International Award (2011), Robert Koch Prize, the Milstein Award (2007), and the William B. Coley Award.
Among his greatest discoveries is the demonstration, through the ablation of toll-like receptor (TLR)s genes, that TLRs recognize a discrete collection of molecules of microbial origin, and later the RNA helicases, RIG-I (retinoic-acid-inducible protein I) and MDA5 (melanoma differentiation-associated protein 5). All molecules belong to the pattern recognition receptors, which detects intruding pathogens and initiates antimicrobial responses in the host.