SAKAGUCHI Shimon Nobel Prize Laureate (Physiology or Medicine)

Dr. SAKAGUCHI Shimon, Distinguished Honorary 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

1979 -- Begins research on Treg cells.
1995 -- Identifies Treg cells using a specific molecular marker, demonstrating their presence and immunological importance for the first time in the world.
2003 -- Discovers Treg cell lineage-defining forkhead transcription factor Foxp3.
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

Distinguished Honorary Professor, Immunology Frontier Research Center, the University of Osaka

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

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)
Oct. 2025　Distinguished Honorary Professor of the University of Osaka

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

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