(born January 27, 1953, in

Higashiōsaka is a Cities of Japan, city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 486,464 in 233,124 households and a population density of 7,874 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . The city is known as one of ...

) is a professor at the Department of Host Defense, Osaka University, Japan. He has made ground-breaking discoveries in the field of

immunology Immunology is a branch of biology and medicine that covers the study of Immune system, immune systems in all Organism, organisms. Immunology charts, measures, and contextualizes the Physiology, physiological functioning of the immune system in ...

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

Education

Shizuo Akira gained a M.D. in School of Medicine from Osaka University in 1977. In 1984 he earned a PhD from Osaka University. 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 university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

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 (2011), Robert Koch Prize, the Milstein Award (2007), and the William B. Coley Award. 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 single-pass membrane protein, single-spanning receptor (biochemistry), receptors usually expressed on sentinel cells such as macrophages ...

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

microbial A microorganism, or microbe, is an organism of microscopic size, which may exist in its single-celled form or as a colony of cells. The possible existence of unseen microbial life was suspected from antiquity, with an early attestation in ...

origin, and later the

RNA Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a polymeric molecule that is essential for most biological functions, either by performing the function itself (non-coding RNA) or by forming a template for the production of proteins (messenger RNA). RNA and deoxyrib ...

helicase Helicases are a class of enzymes that are 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 double helix, separating the two hybridized ...

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 (microbicide) or stops their growth (bacteriostatic agent). Antimicrobial medicines can be grouped according to the microorganisms they are used to treat. For example, antibiotics are used aga ...

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 Prize (Robert Koch Foundation, Germany) *2005 The Emperor's Purple Ribbon Medal (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 William B. Coley Award ( Cancer Research Institute, 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 ...

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

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

*2007 Doctor of Medical Science at

Technical University of Munich The Technical University of Munich (TUM or TU Munich; ) is a public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. It specializes in engineering, technology, medicine, and applied and natural sciences. Established in 1868 by King Ludwig II ...

*2008 Dyer Lecture (National Institute of Health) *2009 Marsh Lecture ( Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research) *2009 Lacey Lecture ( Washington University in St. Louis) *2009 Foreign associate,

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, 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 ...

*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 c ...

*2010 Lifetime honorary member (International Endotoxin and Innate Immunity Society) *2011 The Canada Gairdner International Award *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 Prefectures of Japan, 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 ...

, 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 Scientists from Osaka Prefecture