SAKAGUCHI Shimon Nobel Prize Laureate (Physiology or Medicine)


Dr. SAKAGUCHI Shimon, Specially Appointed Professor, Immunology Frontier Research Center, the University of Osaka

  • He discovered regulatory T (Treg) cells necessary for self-tolerance (suppression of overreaction to self-produced antigens) and immune homeostasis (suppression of allergic responses).
  • He elucidated the causes and pathogenesis of autoimmune disorders as abnormal Treg cell function as well as preventive measures and treatments of immune disorders targeting Treg cells, and developed methods to cause immune responses against cancer cells and methods to induce immune response tolerance in organ recipients.

Achievements

  1. 1979 -- Begins research on Treg cells.
  2. 1995 -- Identifies Treg cells using a specific molecular marker, demonstrating their presence and immunological importance for the first time in the world.
  3. 2003 -- Discovers Treg cell lineage-defining forkhead transcription factor Foxp3.
  4. His achievements will be applied to treatment and prevention of human immune disorders, cancer immunotherapy, and immune tolerance induction in organ recipients.


Treg cells control immune responses


Immune suppression by Treg cells

Personal History

SAKAGUCHI Shimon (74)

Specially Appointed Professor, Immunology Frontier Research Center, the University of Osaka

Education:

  • Mar. 1969 Graduated from Shiga Prefectural Nagahama Kita High School
  • Mar. 1976 Graduated from Faculty of Medicine, Kyoto University
  • Apr. 1976 Entered Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University (through Sep. 1977)
  • Nov. 1983 Doctor of Medicine, Kyoto University

Positions Held:

  • Oct. 1981 Medical Staff, Kyoto University Hospital
  • Sep. 1983 Post-Graduate Researcher, Johns Hopkins University, USA
  • Jul. 1987 Postdoctoral Fellow (Lucille P. Markey Scholar), Stanford University
  • Jul. 1989 Assistant Professor, Scripps Research Institute
  • Mar. 1992 Researcher, Sakigake 21 Research, Research Development Corp. of Japan
  • Apr. 1995 Head, Department of Immunopathology, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology
  • Feb. 1999 Professor, Institute for Frontier Life and Medical Sciences, Kyoto University
  • Oct. 2007 Director, Institute for Frontier Life and Medical Sciences, Kyoto University
  • Apr. 2011 Professor, Immunology Frontier Research Center, the University of Osaka
  • Jul. 2013 The University of Osaka Distinguished Professor (through Mar. 2016)
  • Apr. 2016 Specially Appointed Professor, Immunology Frontier Research Center, the University of Osaka
  • Apr. 2017 The University of Osaka Distinguished Professor
  • Apr. 2025 Specially Appointed Professor, Immunology Frontier Research Center, the University of Osaka (present)

For more information about Dr. Sakaguchi's research, please visit the Nobel Prize Foundation's website by clicking here.

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