was a
Japanese neuroscientist known for his pioneering research on
neurotransmitters and
ion channels
Ion channels are pore-forming membrane proteins that allow ions to pass through the channel pore. Their functions include establishing a resting membrane potential, shaping action potentials and other electrical signals by gating the flow of io ...
, and for his contributions to the understanding of molecular mechanisms of neural signalling.
Biography
Numa was born in
Wakayama, Japan and completed his M.D. in 1952 at
Kyoto University
, mottoeng = Freedom of academic culture
, established =
, type = National university, Public (National)
, endowment = ¥ 316 billion (2.4 1000000000 (number), billion USD)
, faculty = 3,480 (Teaching Staff)
, administrative_staff ...
. He studied at
Harvard Medical School with
John Lawrence Oncley and worked at the
Max Planck Society
The Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science (german: Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften e. V.; abbreviated MPG) is a formally independent non-governmental and non-profit association of German research institutes. ...
with
Feodor Felix Konrad Lynen, before he became Professor of Medical Chemistry at the Faculty of Medicine,
Kyoto University
, mottoeng = Freedom of academic culture
, established =
, type = National university, Public (National)
, endowment = ¥ 316 billion (2.4 1000000000 (number), billion USD)
, faculty = 3,480 (Teaching Staff)
, administrative_staff ...
in 1968. He died of
colon cancer
Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel mo ...
on February 15, 1992, at the age of 63.
Contributions
Numa and co-workers cloned and sequenced the cDNA and delineated the primary structures of different families of receptors and channels including a neurotransmitter-gated channel (
nicotinic acetylcholine receptor), voltage-gated channels (
sodium channel and
calcium channel
A calcium channel is an ion channel which shows selective permeability to calcium ions. It is sometimes synonymous with voltage-gated calcium channel, although there are also ligand-gated calcium channels.
Comparison tables
The following tables e ...
), an intracellular membrane channel (
calcium-release channel), and a G-protein-coupled receptor (
muscarinic acetylcholine receptor).
Recognition
For his great achievements, Numa was awarded numerous honours and awards including, most outstandingly, the
Japan Academy Prize in 1985. He was elected as a foreign member of
the Royal Society in 1986,
as a member of the
German Academy of Natural Scientists Leopoldina in 1990, and as a 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 Nati ...
of the United States of America in 1991. He was selected as a
Person of Cultural Merit
is an official Japanese recognition and honor 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 ...
by the Government of Japan in 1991.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Numa, Shosaku
1929 births
1992 deaths
Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences
Foreign Members of the Royal Society
Japanese molecular biologists
Japanese neuroscientists
Kyoto University alumni
Kyoto University faculty
People from Wakayama Prefecture