Yoshinori Ohsumi To Receive Japan’s Order Of Culture

Professor Yoshinori Ohsumi is the 385th person to be awarded the Order of Culture, Japan’s highest cultural honor.

AsianScientist (Feb. 27, 2017) – Professor Yoshinori Ohsumi, winner of the 2016 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, has been awarded the 2016 Order of Culture, Japan’s highest cultural honor.

The Order of Culture is an order presented to those who have made important contributions to the nation’s science, technology, art, literature, or other field related to culture.

Ohsumi has contributed greatly to the field of cell biology, clarifying the molecular mechanism and diverse physiological significance of autophagy—the self-degradative process in which cells decompose proteins within themselves to adapt to nutritional environments—and elevating the study of autophagy to the forefront of advanced life science research.

“In addition to being named a Person of Cultural Merit last fiscal year, I was unofficially notified about the Order of Culture this year. I have no words other than to say that it is a great honor.”

“Biological science is a small science, and its research includes personal aspects, but cooperation with many people is essential in order to develop research to a larger scale. Thanks to the many people who have supported my autophagy research over the past 28 years, it has now become a major field. There is no way for me to mention each person’s name, but I would like to take this opportunity to show my appreciation to the precious members of my laboratory and the many researchers I have had the pleasure of collaborating with.”


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Source: Tokyo Institute of Technology.
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