is a Japanese immunologist known for his pioneer research on

Interferons Interferons (IFNs, ) are a group of signaling proteins made and released by host cells in response to the presence of several viruses. In a typical scenario, a virus-infected cell will release interferons causing nearby cells to heighten the ...

and

Interferon regulatory factors Interferon regulatory factors (IRF) are proteins which regulate transcription of interferons (see regulation of gene expression). Interferon regulatory factors contain a conserved N-terminal region of about 120 amino acids, which folds into a s ...

Contribution

Taniguchi's work is mostly focused on

immunity Immunity may refer to: Medicine * Immunity (medical), resistance of an organism to infection or disease * ''Immunity'' (journal), a scientific journal published by Cell Press Biology * Immune system Engineering * Radiofrequence immunity desc ...

and

oncogenesis Carcinogenesis, also called oncogenesis or tumorigenesis, is the formation of a cancer, whereby normal cells are transformed into cancer cells. The process is characterized by changes at the cellular, genetic, and epigenetic levels and abno ...

, in particular on the mechanisms of

signal transduction Signal transduction is the process by which a chemical or physical signal is transmitted through a cell as a series of molecular events, most commonly protein phosphorylation catalyzed by protein kinases, which ultimately results in a cellula ...

and

gene expression Gene expression is the process by which information from a gene is used in the synthesis of a functional gene product that enables it to produce end products, protein or non-coding RNA, and ultimately affect a phenotype, as the final effect. The ...

. While working at the Cancer Institute in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, he conducted breakthrough research on sequencing the cDNA, and identified two cytokine genes,

interferon Interferons (IFNs, ) are a group of signaling proteins made and released by host cells in response to the presence of several viruses. In a typical scenario, a virus-infected cell will release interferons causing nearby cells to heighten the ...

-beta and

interleukin Interleukins (ILs) are a group of cytokines (secreted proteins and signal molecules) that are expressed and secreted by white blood cells (leukocytes) as well as some other body cells. The human genome encodes more than 50 interleukins and related ...

-2. These advances helped characterize various cytokines and discover a new family of

transcription factor In molecular biology, a transcription factor (TF) (or sequence-specific DNA-binding factor) is a protein that controls the rate of transcription of genetic information from DNA to messenger RNA, by binding to a specific DNA sequence. The fu ...

interferon regulatory factors Interferon regulatory factors (IRF) are proteins which regulate transcription of interferons (see regulation of gene expression). Interferon regulatory factors contain a conserved N-terminal region of about 120 amino acids, which folds into a s ...

, which play essential roles in the immune system and cancer.

Biography

After graduating in biology from the

Tokyo University of Education is a public research university located in Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan. It is a top 10 Designated National University, and was ranked Type A by the Japanese government as part of the Top Global University Project. The university has 28 college cl ...

in 1971, Taniguchi worked at the Laboratory of Biochemistry,

University of Naples The University of Naples Federico II ( it, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II) is a public university in Naples, Italy. Founded in 1224, it is the oldest public non-sectarian university in the world, and is now organized into 26 depar ...

, Italy from 1972 to 1974. He then went to the

University of Zurich The University of Zürich (UZH, german: Universität Zürich) is a public research university located in the city of Zürich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 f ...

, where in 1978 he received his doctorate in molecular biology under the supervision of

Charles Weissmann Charles Weissmann (born 14 October 1931) is a Hungarian-Swiss molecular biologist. Weissmann is particularly known for the first cloning and expression of interferon and his contributions to the unraveling of the molecular genetics of neurogener ...

. The same year he started working at the Cancer Institute,

Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research The (JFCR) is a non-profit cancer research organization based in Ariake, Tokyo. The JFCR was founded in 1908 as the first Japanese organization specializing in cancer by Katsusaburō Yamagiwa and his supporters. The Cancer Institute and its att ...

. Then for two years he was a visiting associate professor at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

, and in 1984 was appointed as professor of molecular and cell biology at

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. ...

. From 1995 to 2012, he was a professor at the Faculty of Medicine,

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 ...

. Since 2012, he has been a professor at the Institute of Industrial Science,

. He is also an

adjunct professor An adjunct professor is a type of academic appointment in higher education who does not work at the establishment full-time. The terms of this appointment and the job security of the tenure vary in different parts of the world, however the genera ...

at the

New York University School of Medicine NYU Grossman School of Medicine is a medical school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1841 and is one of two medical schools of the university, with the other being the Long Island School of ...

Honors and awards

Taniguchi received numerous awards, including the Milstein Award,

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 ...

(1989),

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 ...

(1991),

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 ...

(1997), Japan Academy Prize (2000), Pezcoller-AACR International Award for Cancer Research (2006) and Tomizo Yoshida Award of the

Japanese Cancer Association The (JCA) is the oldest professional association related to cancer research in Japan. Based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, it focuses on all aspects of cancer research, including basic, clinical and translational research into the etiology, prevention, dia ...

(2008). He was selected as a Person of Cultural Merit by the Government of Japan and as an honorary doctor by the

(2007). He is a member of the

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 ...

, USA (since 2003) and an honorary citizen of

Aridagawa, Wakayama 270px, Aragijima rice terraces is a town located in Arida District, in central Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 25,940 in 10680 households and a population density of 74 persons per km². The total area o ...

(since 2010).

Editorial activities

He is an editor of the journals ''

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ''Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America'' (often abbreviated ''PNAS'' or ''PNAS USA'') is a peer-reviewed multidisciplinary scientific journal. It is the official journal of the National Academy of Sci ...

'', ''

eLife ''eLife'' is a not-for-profit, peer-reviewed, open access, scientific journal for the biomedical and life sciences. It was established at the end of 2012 by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Max Planck Society, and Wellcome Trust, follow ...

'' and ''

Immunity Immunity may refer to: Medicine * Immunity (medical), resistance of an organism to infection or disease * ''Immunity'' (journal), a scientific journal published by Cell Press Biology * Immune system Engineering * Radiofrequence immunity desc ...

''.

References

External links