Shinya Yamanaka, director of the Center for iPS Cell Research and Application, Kyoto University, told NHK before he retired on the 31st, saying that "this is the crucial moment" for the practical application of iPS cells.

Shinya Yamanaka, the creator of iPS cells that become various tissues of the body and won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, has been the director for 12 years since the establishment of the Center for iPS Cell Research and Application, Kyoto University in 2010. Has served as.

Mr. Yamanaka responded to an independent interview with NHK before he retired as director on March 31st.



In this, Mr. Yamanaka said about his retirement, "Since the institute has grown a lot of wonderful researchers in the last 12 years, it is more appropriate to baton touch another teacher than I will continue to be the top." ..



What we have achieved in the last 12 years is the "stock business" that supplies high-quality iPS cells to research institutes, etc. The feeling is an unforgettable moment. I think that research in Japan has been proceeding smoothly so far because we were able to act as a coordinator and build an all-Japan system. I said.



Regarding the future outlook for the practical application of iPS cells, "If you compare it to a marathon, it has just passed the turning point of the middle point, but the closer you are to the goal, the more research funds will be required. It's a crucial moment, "he said. Even after he retired from the director, he expressed his intention to support bridging with companies and securing funds as the chairman of the" iPS Cell Research Foundation, "which supplies iPS cells to research institutes. ..



In addition, Mr. Yamanaka will continue to remain in the laboratory as a researcher and will also conduct research related to iPS cells.



Professor Atsushi Takahashi, who is conducting research on the treatment of Parkinson's disease using iPS cells, will be appointed as the next director from April 1.

What is the Center for iPS Cell Research and Application, Kyoto University?

The Center for iPS Cell Research and Application, Kyoto University was established 12 years ago as the world's first research facility that consistently conducts research on iPS cells from basic to applied.



Research on regenerative medicine that restores lost functions by transplanting cells and tissues made from iPS cells, elucidation of the mechanism of disease using patient-derived iPS cells, and research aimed at developing new drugs. By now, more than 1100 research papers have been published, and clinical research on humans is actually being conducted.



In particular, Japan's research has been accelerated by the stock business, which prepares and stores iPS cells for regenerative medicine in advance and supplies them to other research institutes.



In this business, we have achieved a stable supply of high-quality cells by producing iPS cells that are less likely to cause rejection even when transplanted from human cells with a special type of immunity.



So far, iPS cells that can genetically correspond to about 40% of Japanese people have been produced and stocked, and are used in clinical research of more than 10 regenerative medicine such as eyes, heart, brain, and spinal cord.



The operation of the business has been taken over by the iPS Cell Research Foundation, which was established three years ago, and the current research institute is more specialized in basic research and clinical research.