was a prominent Japanese

physiologist Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out chemical and ...

who uncovered the regulatory role of

calcium Calcium is a chemical element; it has symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar to it ...

in cells. He is famous for the discovery of

troponin Troponin, or the troponin complex, is a complex of three regulatory proteins (troponin C, troponin I, and troponin T) that are integral to muscle contraction in skeletal muscle and cardiac muscle, but not smooth muscle. Measurements of cardiac-spe ...

in 1965, which is integral to

muscle contraction Muscle contraction is the activation of Tension (physics), tension-generating sites within muscle cells. In physiology, muscle contraction does not necessarily mean muscle shortening because muscle tension can be produced without changes in musc ...

, as well as for the contribution of diagnosis of

muscular dystrophy Muscular dystrophies (MD) are a genetically and clinically heterogeneous group of rare neuromuscular diseases that cause progressive weakness and breakdown of skeletal muscles over time. The disorders differ as to which muscles are primarily affe ...

Life

Ebashi was born in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, and received his medical degree in 1944 and Ph.D. in 1954 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 ...

. He was Guest Investigator of the Rockefeller Institute in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

from January to December 1959, where he studied with

Fritz Lipmann Fritz Albert Lipmann (; June 12, 1899 – July 24, 1986) was a German-American biochemist and a co-discoverer in 1945 of coenzyme A. For this, together with other research on coenzyme A, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in ...

. Ebashi was Professor and Chair of

Pharmacology Pharmacology is the science of drugs and medications, including a substance's origin, composition, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, therapeutic use, and toxicology. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur betwee ...

at the Faculty of Medicine,

from May 1959 until March 1983, as well as Professor and Chair of

Biophysics Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that applies approaches and methods traditionally used in physics to study biological phenomena. Biophysics covers all scales of biological organization, from molecular to organismic and populations ...

at the School of Science from May 1971 to March 1983. He trained many graduate students and postdoctorals who later became leading figures in basic medical sciences in Japan, including Tomoh Masaki who discovered

Endothelin Endothelins are peptides with receptors and effects in many body organs. Endothelin constricts blood vessels and raises blood pressure. The endothelins are normally kept in balance by other mechanisms, but when overexpressed, they contribute ...

in 1988. After retiring from the University of Tokyo and becoming Professor Emeritus, Ebashi was offered a professorship in the National Institute for Physiological Sciences in

Okazaki Okazaki may refer to: *Okazaki (surname) *Okazaki, Aichi, a city in Japan *Okazaki Castle, a castle in Japan *Okazaki fragments Okazaki fragments are short sequences of DNA nucleotides (approximately 150 to 200 base pairs long in eukaryotes) w ...

. He became Director-General of National Institute for Physiological Sciences in April 1985, and President of Okazaki National Institutes including National Institute for Physiological Sciences in March 1991.

Recognition

Ebashi was awarded several honors including, the 1968

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 ...

, the 1972

Imperial Prize of the Japan Academy The is a prestigious honor conferred to two of the recipients of the Japan Academy Prize (academics), Japan Academy Prize. Overviews It is awarded in two categories: humanities and natural sciences. The Emperor of Japan, Emperor and Empress ...

, the 1999

International Prize for Biology The is an annual award for "outstanding contribution to the advancement of research in fundamental biology." The Prize, although it is not always awarded to a biologist, is one of the most prestigious honours a natural scientist can receive. Ther ...

, the

Order of the Sacred Treasure The is a Japanese Order (distinction), order, established on 4 January 1888 by Emperor Meiji as the Order of Meiji. Originally awarded in eight classes (from 8th to 1st, in ascending order of importance), since 2003 it has been awarded in six c ...

, and an

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 ...

. He was elected as 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 ...

(ForMemRS) in 1977 and a member of the

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 ...

(MJA) in 1978.

Setsuro Ebashi Award

Since 2007 the Japanese Pharmacological Society has awarded the Setsuro Ebashi Award to researchers who made a considerable achievement in the field of

pharmacology Pharmacology is the science of drugs and medications, including a substance's origin, composition, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, therapeutic use, and toxicology. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur betwee ...

in honor of Setsuro Ebashi who contributed on a global scale to the field of biomedical research.

Shinya Yamanaka is a Japanese stem cell researcher and a Nobel Prize laureate. He is a professor and the director emeritus of Center for iPS Cell (induced Pluripotent Stem Cell) Research and Application, Kyoto University; as a senior investigator at the U ...

, the 2008 Setsuro Ebashi Award winner, received the

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...

in Physiology or Medicine in 2012.

Publications

* Hiroshi Yoshida, Yashiro Hagihara, Setsuro Ebashi (ed) ''Advances in pharmacology and therapeutics II'' Pergamon, 1982, *''Novel developments on genetic recombination: dna double-strand break and dna end-joining'', Japan Scientific Soc. Press, 2004 *Setsuro Ebashi, E. Ozawa (ed) ''Muscular Dystrophy: Biomedical Aspects'', Springer Verlag, 1983, *''Protein array: an alternative biomolecular system'' Japan Scientific Soc. Press, 1997 *''Muscle elastic proteins'', Japan Scientific Soc. Press, 1996

References

External links

Biophysics in Japan, its Past, Present and Future
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ebashi, Setsuro Japanese physiologists Japanese biophysicists 20th-century Japanese biochemists 1922 births 2006 deaths Scientists from Tokyo University of Tokyo alumni Academic staff of the University of Tokyo Laureates of the Imperial Prize Recipients of the Order of Culture Recipients of the Order of the Sacred Treasure, 1st class Foreign members of the Royal Society Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences Japanese expatriates in the United States