(born March 25, 1946) is a Japanese

neuroscientist A neuroscientist (or neurobiologist) is a scientist specializing in neuroscience that deals with the anatomy and function of neurons, Biological neural network, neural circuits, and glia, and their Behavior, behavioral, biological, and psycholo ...

and cell biologist famous for research on the kinesin superfamily of

motor proteins Motor proteins are a class of molecular motors that can move along the cytoskeleton of cells. They do this by converting chemical energy into mechanical work by the hydrolysis of ATP. Cellular functions Motor proteins are the driving force b ...

. He has been President and Chair of the Board of Trustees at the Human Frontier Science Program since 2012.

Contribution

Hirokawa's work is mostly focused on the molecular mechanisms involved in transporting materials within nerve cells, in particular in his discovery of many of the functions of the

Kinesin A kinesin is a protein complex belonging to a class of motor proteins found in eukaryotic cells. Kinesins move along microtubule (MT) filaments and are powered by the hydrolysis of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) (thus kinesins are ATPases, a typ ...

superfamily of

molecular motors Molecular motors are natural (biological) or artificial molecular machines that are the essential agents of movement in living organisms. In general terms, a motor is a device that consumes energy in one form and converts it into motion or mech ...

Biography

Hirokawa was born in

Yokosuka, Kanagawa is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has a population of 373,797, and a population density of . The total area is . Yokosuka is the 11th-most populous city in the Greater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in the Kantō region. The city is ...

and received his M.D. in 1971 and his Ph.D. in 1978 from The

University of Tokyo The University of Tokyo (, abbreviated as in Japanese and UTokyo in English) is a public research university in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1877 as the nation's first modern university by the merger of several pre-westernisation era ins ...

in Japan; from 1979 to 1983 he served as a Postdoctoral Fellow at

University of California, San Francisco The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Francisco, California, United States. It is part of the University of California system and is dedic ...

and as a research Assistant professor and an associate professor at

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...

."未踏の細胞を観察する" Biography of Nobutaka Hirokawa

/ref> On returning to Japan, he was appointed Professor and Chairman of

Cell Biology Cell biology (also cellular biology or cytology) is a branch of biology that studies the structure, function, and behavior of cells. All living organisms are made of cells. A cell is the basic unit of life that is responsible for the living an ...

and

Anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of morphology concerned with the study of the internal structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old scien ...

at the Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, where he served as the Dean from 2003 to 2007. He is now holds a Distinguished Project Professor at the same institution.

Publications

Hirokawa published numerous papers include the following *Hirokawa, N. Cross-linker system between neurofilaments, microtubules, and membranous organelles in frog axons revealed by the quick-freeze, deep-etching method.

Journal of Cell Biology The ''Journal of Cell Biology'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Rockefeller University Press. History In the early 1950s, a small group of biologists began to explore intracellular anatomy using the emerging technology of e ...

94(1): 129-142, 1982. *Hirokawa, N., K.K. Pfister, H. Yorifuji, M.C. Wagner, S.T. Brady, and G.S. Bloom. Submolecular domains of bovine brain kinesin identified by electron microscopy and monoclonal antibody decoration. Cell 56(5): 867-878, 1989 *Okada, Y., H. Yamazaki, Y. Sekine-Aizawa, and N. Hirokawa. The neuron-specific kinesin superfamily protein KIF1A is a unique monomeric motor for anterograde axonal transport of synaptic vesicle precursors. Cell 81(5): 769-780, 1995. *Hirokawa, N. Kinesin and dynein superfamily proteins and the mechanism of organelle transport. Science 279(5350): 519-526, 1998. *Nonaka, S., Y. Tanaka, Y. Okada, S. Takeda, A. Harada, Y. Kanai, M. Kido, and N. Hirokawa. Randomization of left-right asymmetry due to loss of nodal cilia generating leftward flow of extraembryonic fluid in mice lacking KIF3B motor protein. Cell 95(6): 829-837, 1998. *Okada, Y., and N. Hirokawa. A Processive Single-Headed Motor: Kinesin Superfamily Protein KIF1A. Science 283: 1152–1157, 1999. *Setou, M., T. Nakagawa, D.H. Seog, and N. Hirokawa. Kinesin superfamily motor protein KIF17 and mLin-10 in NMDA receptor-containing vesicle transport. Science 288(5472): 1796–1802, 2000. *Kikkawa, M., E.P. Sablin, Y. Okada, H. Yajima, R.J. Fletterick, and N. Hirokawa. Switch-based mechanism of kinesin motors. Nature 411(6836): 439-445, 2001. *Homma, N., Y. Takei, Y. Tanaka, T. Nakata, S. Terada, M. Kikkawa, Y. Noda, and N. Hirokawa. Kinesin superfamily protein 2A (KIF2A) functions in suppression of collateral branch extension. Cell 114: 229-239, 2003. *Nitta, R., M. Kikkawa, Y. Okada, and N. Hirokawa. KIF1A alternately uses two loops to bind microtubules. Science 305: 678-683, 2004. *Hirokawa, N. and R. Takemura. Molecular motors and mechanisms of directional transport in neurons.

Nature Reviews Neuroscience ''Nature Reviews Neuroscience'' is a monthly peer-reviewed review journal published by Nature Portfolio. It was established in 2000. The editor-in-chief is Darran Yates. Abstracting and indexing The journal is abstracted and indexed in: *PubMed/ ...

6: 201-214, 2005. *Hirokawa, N., Y. Tanaka, Y. Okada and S. Takeda. Nodal flow and the generation of left-right asymmetry. (Review Article) Cell 125(1): 33-45, 2006. *Midorikawa, R., Y. Takei, and N. Hirokawa. KIF4 motor regulates activity-dependent neuronal survival by suppressing PARP-1 enzymatic activity. Cell 125: 371-383, 2006

Honors and awards

Hirokawa received several honors and awards include the following *

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 Shimbun is a Japanese daily newspaper founded in 1879. It is one of the oldest newspapers in Japan and Asia, and is considered a newspaper of record for Japan. The ''Asahi Shimbun'' is one of the five largest newspapers in Japan along with the ''Yom ...

'' (1995) * Japan Academy Prize,

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 ...

(1999) *Foreign member,

European Molecular Biology Organization The European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) is a professional, non-profit organization of more than 2,100 life scientists. Its goal is to promote research in life science and enable international exchange between scientists. It co-funds cour ...

(2003) *Member,

(2004) *

Person of Cultural Merit is an official Japanese recognition and honour which is awarded annually to select people who have made outstanding cultural contributions. This distinction is intended to play a role as a part of a system of support measures for the promotion of ...

(2013) * Eduard Buchner Prize, Germany (2005) *

Order of Culture The is a Japanese Order (decoration), order, established on February 11, 1937. The order has one class only, and may be awarded to men and women for contributions to Japanese Art, Japan's art, Japanese Literature, literature, science, technolog ...

(2024)

References

External links

Hirokawa's Lab, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hirokawa, Nobutaka Japanese neuroscientists Japanese cell biologists Members of the European Molecular Biology Organization Academic staff of the University of Tokyo University of Tokyo alumni People from Yokosuka, Kanagawa Scientists from Kanagawa Prefecture 1946 births Living people Washington University in St. Louis faculty Persons of Cultural Merit Recipients of the Order of Culture