The Award Ceremony for the 25th Keio Medical Science Prize was held on Monday, November 30 at the 11th floor Large Conference Hall in Building 2 on Shinanomachi Campus. For the first time since its establishment, the prize-giving ceremony was held online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Awarded under the Keio University Medical Science Fund since 1996, the Keio Medical Science Prize recognizes researchers from Japan and overseas who have made outstanding and creative achievements in the fields of medicine and the life sciences, and whose contributions are expected to go from strength to strength in the future. It is the only prize of its kind awarded by a Japanese university, with eight recipients having gone on to become Nobel Laureates.
This year Dr. Atsushi Miyawaki, a Team Leader at RIKEN, and Dr. Aviv Regev of US biotechnology company Genentech Research and Early Development were awarded the prize for their work on their respective research themes of "Clarification of life phenomenon using pioneering molecular imaging," and "Understanding biocomplexity using single-cell genomics."
To begin, President Akira Haseyama offered his opening remarks and congratulatory address to the award winners, and medals and diplomas were presented to Dr. Miyawaki and Dr. Regev. Next, the two award winners offered words expressing their delight at receiving their prizes, and spoke about their research to date, their gratitude to those involved in their research, and their passion to continue researching. This was followed by congratulatory addresses by Tsutomu Takeuchi, Keio Vice President, and Masayuki Amagai, Dean of the Keio University School of Medicine, to wrap up the ceremony in a spirit of celebration.
In advance of the award ceremony, an interview with the award recipients was conducted by student ambassadors from the School of Medicine, while a post-ceremony dialogue between the committee members for the prize selection and the recipients was also held. This scene was later shared on the website of the Keio University Medical Science Fund.
Commemorative lectures by the award winners, in a tradition carried on from previous years, will also be held online according to the below schedule.
Wednesday, December 9, 11:00–12:30 (tentative) Dr. Aviv Regev
Lecture title: "Cell Atlases as Roadmaps in Health and Disease"
Wednesday, December 16, 18:00–19:30 (tentative) Dr. Atsushi Miyawaki
Lecture title: "Casting Light on Life"
Please refer here for details.
Information on the 25th (2020) Keio Medical Science Prize Commemorative Lecture Webinars
Learn more about the prize winners and their research topics
Keio University Medical Science Fund