is an immunologist and a Distinguished Professor of

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 Proje ...

. He is best known for the discovery of regulatory T cells and to describe their role in the

immune system The immune system is a network of biological processes that protects an organism from diseases. It detects and responds to a wide variety of pathogens, from viruses to parasitic worms, as well as Tumor immunology, cancer cells and objects such ...

. This discovery is used in the treatment of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal bl ...

and autoimmune diseases.

Biography

Sakaguchi was born in Japan's Shiga Prefecture and educated at

Kyoto University , mottoeng = Freedom of academic culture , established = , type = Public (National) , endowment = ¥ 316 billion (2.4 billion USD) , faculty = 3,480 (Teaching Staff) , administrative_staff = 3,978 (Total Staff) , students = 22 ...

. In 2015, the news agency

Thomson Reuters Thomson Reuters Corporation ( ) is a Canadian multinational media conglomerate. The company was founded in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where it is headquartered at the Bay Adelaide Centre. Thomson Reuters was created by the Thomson Corp ...

signals Shimon Sakaguchi among potential recipients of the

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine ( sv, Nobelpriset i fysiologi eller medicin) is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute, Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or ...

Awards and recognition

* 2004: William B. Coley Award * 2008: Keio Medical Science Prize * 2009:

Medals of Honor (Japan) are medals awarded by the Government of Japan. They are awarded to individuals who have done meritorious deeds and also to those who have achieved excellence in their field of work. The Medals of Honor were established on December 7, 1881, and w ...

, purple ribbon * 2011: Asahi Prize * 2012: Foreign associate 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 Nat ...

* 2015: Gairdner Foundation International Award. * 2017: Crafoord Prize * 2017: Person of Cultural Merit * 2017: Momofuku Ando Prize * 2019: Order of Culture * 2020: Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize * 2020: Robert Koch Prize

References

External links

*
Osaka University Immunology Frontier Research Center
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sakaguchi, Shimon 1951 births Living people Japanese immunologists Kyoto University alumni Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences Osaka University faculty Recipients of the Order of Culture