I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to Dr. Shimon Sakaguchi, Distinguished Professor at The University of Osaka, for receiving this year's Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

Dr. Sakaguchi discovered regulatory T (Treg) cells, which suppress excessive immune responses. Through his persistent research, he paved the way for new treatments and drug development for diseases such as autoimmune disorders and cancer.

After carrying out research in the United States, Dr. Sakaguchi returned to Japan and was affiliated with RIKEN as a young researcher. His 1995 findings on regulatory T cells, published while he was at the RIKEN Tsukuba Life Science Center, were cited by the Nobel Foundation as a “landmark study.”

Furthermore, after returning to RIKEN in 2003 as a team leader, he published a paper, together with researcher Shohei Hori (currently Professor, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Tokyo), elucidating the function of the transcription factor Foxp3, which governs the activity of regulatory T cells. We are delighted that his research at RIKEN led to subsequent research at universities, which developed further and culminated in this award. We look forward to the continued advancement of his broad-based disease research for the elucidation of various diseases and the development of therapies.

Starting this fiscal year, RIKEN has adopted a seven-year mid-to-long-term plan emphasizing the nurturing of young researchers who will lead the next generation and strengthening collaboration with universities. We will provide systematic support to enable outstanding researchers nurtured at RIKEN to continue their research and achieve further breakthroughs when they move to new positions at universities and other institutions.

Once again, I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to Dr. Sakaguchi on his award. As RIKEN, we will continue to contribute to the development of young researchers and the advancement of Japan's overall scientific and technological capabilities.

For more details, please see the Nobel Foundation page.

The RIKEN papers cited in the award are as follows:

Sakaguchi, S., N. Sakaguchi, M. Asano, M. Itoh, and M. Toda. 1995. 'Immunologic self-tolerance maintained by activated T cells expressing IL-2 receptor alpha-chains (CD25). Breakdown of a single mechanism of self-tolerance causes various autoimmune diseases', J Immunol, 155:1151-64. DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.155.3.1151

Hori, S., T. Nomura, and S. Sakaguchi. 2003. 'Control of regulatory T cell development by the transcription factor Foxp3', Science, 299: 1057-61. DOI: 10.1126/science.1079490