(born January 27, 1953 in

Higashiōsaka is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 489,077 in 233,124 households and a population density of 7900 persons per km². The total area of the city is . The city is known as one of the industrial ci ...

) is a professor at the Department of Host Defense,

Osaka University , abbreviated as , is a public research university located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It is one of Japan's former Imperial Universities and a Designated National University listed as a "Top Type" university in the Top Global University Project. ...

, Japan. He has made ground-breaking discoveries in the field of

immunology Immunology is a branch of medicineImmunology for Medical Students, Roderick Nairn, Matthew Helbert, Mosby, 2007 and biology that covers the medical study of immune systems in humans, animals, plants and sapient species. In such we can see there ...

, most significantly in the area of innate host defense mechanisms.

Education

Shizuo Akira gained a M.D. in School of Medicine from

in 1977. In 1984 he earned a PhD from

. Till 1987, he did post-doctoral research at

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

Research

Besides being one of the world's most-cited scientists, he has also been recognised, in the years 2006 and 2007, for 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 The Canada Gairdner International Award is given annually by the Gairdner Foundation at a special dinner to five individuals for outstanding discoveries or contributions to medical science. Receipt of the Gairdner is traditionally considered a p ...

(2011),

Robert Koch Prize The Robert Koch Medal and Award are two prizes awarded annually by the German for excellence in the biomedical sciences. These awards grew out of early attempts by German physician Robert Koch to generate funding to support his research into the ...

, the Milstein Award (2007), and the

William B. Coley Award The William B. Coley Award for Distinguished Research in Basic and Tumor Immunology is presented annually by the Cancer Research Institute, to scientists who have made outstanding achievements in the fields of basic and tumor immunology and whose w ...

. Among his greatest discoveries is the demonstration, through the ablation of

toll-like receptor Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are a class of proteins that play a key role in the innate immune system. They are Bitopic protein, single-pass membrane-spanning Receptor (biochemistry), receptors usually expressed on sentinel cells such as macrophage ...

(TLR)s genes, that TLRs recognize a discrete collection of molecules of

microbial A microorganism, or microbe,, ''mikros'', "small") and ''organism'' from the el, ὀργανισμός, ''organismós'', "organism"). It is usually written as a single word but is sometimes hyphenated (''micro-organism''), especially in olde ...

origin, and later the

RNA Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a polymeric molecule essential in various biological roles in coding, decoding, regulation and expression of genes. RNA and deoxyribonucleic acid ( DNA) are nucleic acids. Along with lipids, proteins, and carbohydra ...

helicase Helicases are a class of enzymes thought to be vital to all organisms. Their main function is to unpack an organism's genetic material. Helicases are motor proteins that move directionally along a nucleic acid phosphodiester backbone, separatin ...

s, 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 An antimicrobial is an agent that kills microorganisms or stops their growth. Antimicrobial medicines can be grouped according to the microorganisms they act primarily against. For example, antibiotics are used against bacteria, and antifungals ar ...

responses in the host.

Career history

* Clinical Training and Physician (1977-1980) * Research Fellow, University of California, Berkeley (1985-1987) * Research Associate (1987-1995), Associate Professor (1995), Institute for Molecular and Cellular Biology, Osaka University * Professor, Hyogo College of Medicine (1996-1999) * Professor, Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University (1999–present) * Center Director, Osaka University Immunology Frontier Research Center (2007–present)

Recognition

*2000 Inoue Prize for Science (Inoue Foundation of Science) *2001 Hideyo Noguchi Prize (Osaka Science & Technology) *2002 Osaka Science Prize (Osaka Science & Technology) *2003 Takeda Medical Prize (Takeda Science Foundation) *2004 Prize of Princess Takamatsu Cancer Research Fund *2004

(Robert Koch Foundation, Germany) *2005 The Emperor's

Purple Ribbon Medal Purple is any of a variety of colors with hue between red and blue. In the RGB color model used in computer and television screens, purples are produced by mixing red and blue light. In the RYB color model historically used by painters, pur ...

(Japanese Cabinet Office) *2006

Asahi Prize The , established in 1929, is an award presented by the Japanese newspaper ''Asahi Shimbun'' and Asahi Shimbun Foundation to honor individuals and groups that have made outstanding accomplishments in the fields of arts and academics and have greatl ...

(Asahi Shinbun) *2006

(

Cancer Research Institute The Cancer Research Institute (CRI) is a US non-profit organization funding cancer research and based in New York City. They were founded in 1953 to develop immunologically-based treatments for cancer, and despite their name are a funding body fo ...

, United States) *2007 "Hottest Researcher" Thompson Scientific Research Award *2007 Uehara Prize (Uehara Memorial Foundation) *2007 Imperial Prize and

Japan Academy Prize (academics) The is a prize awarded by the Japan Academy in recognition of academic theses, books, and achievements. Overviews An award ceremony has been held every year since 1911. Up to nine of these Prizes are awarded every year. There have been 676 w ...

(

Japan Academy The Japan Academy (Japanese: 日本学士院, ''Nihon Gakushiin'') is an honorary organisation and science academy founded in 1879 to bring together leading Japanese scholars with distinguished records of scientific achievements. The Academy is c ...

) *2007 Milstein Award (International Society for Interferon and Cytokine Research) *2007 Dunham lecture at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

*2007 Doctor of Medical Science at

Technical University of Munich The Technical University of Munich (TUM or TU Munich; german: Technische Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It specializes in engineering, technology, medicine, and applied and natural sciences. Establis ...

*2008 Dyer Lecture (National Institute of Health) *2009 Marsh Lecture (

Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research in Manhasset, Nassau County, New York, United States, on Long Island, constitute the research arm of Northwell Health. Feinstein is home to 50 research labs, 2,500 clinical research studies, and 5, ...

) *2009 Lacey Lecture (

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

) *2009 Foreign associate,

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

*2009 Person of Cultural Merit (Japanese Government) *2009 Hans Bloemendal Medal (University of Nijmegen, Netherland) *2010 Avery-Landsteiner Prize (German Society for Immunology) *2010

Keio Medical Science Prize The Keio Medical Science Prize ( Japanese: 慶應医学賞) is a Japanese prize in medical sciences. Introduction The prize is awarded to scientists who made significant contributions to the field of medical sciences or life sciences. And these co ...

*2010 Lifetime honorary member (International Endotoxin and Innate Immunity Society) *2011 The

Canada Gairdner International Award The Canada Gairdner International Award is given annually by the Gairdner Foundation at a special dinner to five individuals for outstanding discoveries or contributions to medical science. Receipt of the Gairdner is traditionally considered a p ...

*2016 Semantic Scholar AI program ranked Akira as #4 on its list of most influential biomedical researchers.

Missing and rescued

In July 2021, Akira went missing while climbing Kannon peak in Tenkawa,

Nara Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Nara Prefecture has a population of 1,321,805 and has a geographic area of . Nara Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Osaka Prefecture to the northwest, Wakayama P ...

, on his own. He was found and rescued by police with the help of a police dog.Mizuki Hayashi
Police dog, trainer honored for helping to find missing Osaka University professor
''The Mainichi'' (September 7, 2021).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Akira, Shizuo 1953 births Living people Japanese immunologists People from Higashiōsaka Osaka University alumni Academic staff of Osaka University Laureates of the Imperial Prize Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences Fellows of the American Academy of Microbiology