06/13/2022
Every June, the School of Medicine and the Sanshikai (the School of Medicine's alumni association) hold the Kitasato Memorial Ceremony at Kitasato Hall on the Shinanomachi Campus. This ceremony is held on June 13, the anniversary of the death of Dr. Shibasaburo Kitasato, the first Dean of the School of Medicine and Director of the University Hospital, to commemorate his great achievements for many years to come.
In 1892, with the support of Yukichi Fukuzawa, Dr. Shibasaburo Kitasato founded the Institute for Study of Infectious Diseases in Shiba Park. To honor Yukichi Fukuzawa's aspirations, he became the first Dean of the School of Medicine, laying the foundation for the current School of Medicine and University Hospital.
The 91st Kitasato Memorial Ceremony was scheduled to be held this year, but it was canceled due to the spread of COVID-19.
Since the memorial ceremony usually includes the award ceremony for the Sanshikai Prizes (Kitasato Award and Kitajima Prize), only the award ceremony was held this year on June 10.
The Kitasato Award by the Sanshikai was established in 1951 to commemorate the great achievements of Dr. Shibasaburo Kitasato. In 1958, the Kitajima Prize was added to commemorate Dr. Taichi Kitajima, the second Dean of the School of Medicine.
The Kitasato Award (for outstanding achievements in basic research and research that contributes to clinical applications) and the Kitajima Prize (for outstanding achievements in clinical medicine and clinical research) are prestigious academic awards at the School of Medicine, recognizing achievements that are internationally acclaimed.
At the award ceremony, the winners were presented with a certificate and a supplementary prize, and congratulatory remarks were given by Takanori Kanai, Dean of the School of Medicine, and Junzo Takeda, President of the Sanshikai, who were in attendance. The winners of this year's Kitasato Award and Kitajima Prize are listed below. Videos of the award winners' lectures are available on the Sanshikai website.
[Award Winners]
Kitasato Award: "Elucidation of Carcinogenic Mechanisms through Pan-Cancer Analysis"
Keisuke Kataoka (Professor, Department of Internal Medicine (Hematology), Keio University School of Medicine)
Kitajima Prize: "Establishment and Leadership of the Nationwide Multicenter Collaborative Study of Catheter-Based Treatment for Structural Heart Disease (OCEAN-SHD)"
Kentaro Hayashida (Project Associate Professor, Endowed Research Department of Pathophysiology of Intractable Cardiovascular Disease, Keio University School of Medicine)
Photo by Susumu Ishido