was a Japanese

neuroscientist A neuroscientist (or neurobiologist) is a scientist who has specialised knowledge in neuroscience, a branch of biology that deals with the physiology, biochemistry, psychology, anatomy and molecular biology of neurons, Biological neural network, n ...

, and director of the Riken Brain Science Institute.

Overviews

Masao Ito was the main force behind Japanese neuroscience and its international recognition for many years. He was very active in the International Brain Research Organisation (IBRO) and went on to establish the Federation of Asian-Oceanian Neuroscience Societies (FAONS) in an effort to join together East Asian neuroscientists and facilitate interactions without dependence on American/European influences. This organisation is still active and acts in concert with IBRO's own Asia-Pacific Regional Committee which was set up in 1999. His roles in international scientific diplomacy, raising funds for neuroscience in the region and establishing the Riken Brain Science Institute were pivotal in promoting neuroscience throughout the East Asian countries. He won the 2006

Gruber Prize in Neuroscience The Gruber Prize in Neuroscience, established in 2004, is one of three international awards worth US$500,000 made by the Gruber Foundation, a non-profit organization based in Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The Gruber Prize in Neurosc ...

and the 1996

Japan Prize is awarded to people from all parts of the world whose "original and outstanding achievements in science and technology are recognized as having advanced the frontiers of knowledge and served the cause of peace and prosperity for mankind." The P ...

. He was elected a Foreign Member of

the Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

in 1992.

Life

Ito graduated from the

University of Tokyo , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project by ...

with an M.D. in 1953 and a Ph.D. in 1959. He was a research fellow at

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...

from 1959 to 1962. He taught at the University of Tokyo from 1963. Ito died on 18 December 2018 at the age of 90.Announcement of passing Dr. Masao Ito
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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ito, Masao 1928 births 2018 deaths People from Nagoya Foreign Members of the Royal Society Foreign Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences University of Tokyo faculty University of Tokyo alumni Japanese neuroscientists Recipients of the Order of Culture Riken personnel Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences