Yoshinori Ohsumi

Dr. Ohsumi’s curiosity led him to become the first person in the world to determine the molecular mechanism and regulation of autophagy, shedding light on one of the most basic functions of all living cells,” said Paul Stoffels, M.D., Chief Scientific Officer, Johnson & Johnson. “Dr. Ohsumi’s discoveries hold promise for better understanding, preventing and treating many diseases. It is with great pleasure that we celebrate his contributions, which remind us of the innovative spirit Dr. Paul brought to the lab every day.” Autophagy is a universal process that cells use for maintenance, repair and generation of energy during starvation. Dr. Ohsumi first observed these processes in yeast cells. He then determined that autophagy is one of the most basic cell functions found in a variety of organisms, from plants to humans. Research of disruptions to this process has added to the understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in many health disorders including cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. “Dr. Ohsumi’s discoveries have opened one of the most exciting and widespread fields of biology and medicine,” said Michael Brown, M.D., Paul J. Thomas Professor of Molecular Genetics and Director of the Jonsson Center for Molecular Genetics, University of Texas Southwestern, and Chair of the Dr. Paul Janssen Award independent selection committee. “Autophagy is essential for survival during starvation in all organisms from yeast to humans. The process was visualized by microscopists but no one had any idea of the mechanism until Dr. Ohsumi and his students elucidated the intricate pathway through a brilliant combination of biochemistry and genetics in yeast. Subsequent studies suggest many other functions for autophagy in higher organisms, including resistance to certain infections, resistance to neurodegeneration and survival of cancer cells. Professor Ohsumi’s discoveries have exerted a profound impact on biological science and medicine.” Dr. Ohsumi is Honorary Professor at the Frontier Research Center at the Tokyo Institute of Technology and Professor Emeritus at the National Institute for Basic Biology at the Graduate University for Advanced Studies, Japan. Dr. Ohsumi previously served as a professor at the National Institute of Basic Biology and as an associate professor at the University of Tokyo, where he also earned his bachelor and doctoral degrees. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at The Rockefeller University in New York, NY. Dr. Ohsumi has received many accolades for his work, including the Fujihara Award, Japan Academy Prize, Asahi Prize, Kyoto Prize in Life Sciences, Keio Medical Science Prize, International Prize for Biology, Gairdner International Award, Rosenstiel Award, and Wiley Prize in Biomedical Sciences. “I feel greatly honored that my work has attracted so much interest, and that it could lead to advancements that make an impact on human health,” said Dr. Ohsumi. “Being recognized with the Dr. Paul Janssen Award and joining the ranks of the prior Award recipients is a true privilege.” The winners of the Dr. Paul Janssen Award for Biomedical Research are chosen by an independent selection committee of the world’s most renowned scientists. The Award, which includes a $200,000 prize, will be presented to Dr. Ohsumi during ceremonies in the U.S. and Belgium in September. Dr. Yoshinori Ohsumi was born in Fukuoka in 1945. In 1963, he entered to The Univ. of Tokyo, then he chose decisively to follow molecular biology as the path of his future. As a graduate student, Dr. Ohsumi studied the initiation mechanism of E. coli ribosome and then action of colicin E3, which inhibits the translation of E. coli cells by binding to its receptor. Near the end of 1974, he enrolled in Rockefeller Univ., to study under Dr. G. M. Edelman. First Dr. Ohsumi worked on in vitro fertilization in mice, then switched to work on the mechanism of initiation of DNA replication using yeast, which introduced him to yeast research. Dr. Ohsumi returned to Japan at the end of 1977, and worked as an assistant professor under Prof. Y. Anraku, at the Faculty of Science, The Univ. of Tokyo. Dr. Ohsumi decided to take up the study of the yeast vacuolar membrane. By making pure vacuolar membrane vesicles, he succeeded to show various active transport systems and a novel type of proton-pump, v-type ATPase on the vacuolar membrane. In 1988, Dr. Ohsumi became an associate professor in College of Arts and Sciences of The Univ. of Tokyo and opened up his own small lab. He decided to work on the lytic function of the vacuole. Soon after, Dr. Ohsumi found yeast autophagy by light and electron microscopy. Taking advantage of yeast system, he performed a genetic screen for autophagy-defective mutants. His group could get 15 genes essential for starvation-induced autophagy by the first screen, and started cloning of these ATG genes. Then Dr. Ohsumi moved to The National Inst. for Basic Biology at Okazaki, and uncovered that these Atg proteins consist of six unique functional groups, such as a protein kinase complex, two ubiquitin-like conjugation systems, a PtdIns 3-kinase complex and so on. Drs. T. Yoshimori and N. Mizushima in his lab started studies on ATG genes in mammals and a student also worked on plant, proving that the ATG system is well conserved in higher eukaryotes. However, up to now, Dr. Ohsumi has focused on dissection of the molecular mechanism of the Atg proteins in yeast. In 2009, Dr. Ohsumi moved to Tokyo Inst. of Technology, and continues to elucidate the molecular details of membrane dynamics during autophagosome formation and the physiological relevance of autophagy by combination of cell biology, biochemistry, molecular biology, and structural biology.