
AsianScientist (Apr. 13, 2017) – Professor Tadamitsu Kishimoto of Osaka University has been awarded the King Faisal International Prize (KFIP) 2017 for Medicine. Kishimoto received his prize from King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud of Saudi Arabia at a ceremony held of April 4, 2017.
Other winners of the King Faisal International Prize 2017 include Professor Daniel Loss who won the KFIP Prize for Science, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud who won the KFIP Prize for Service to Islam, Professor Ridwan Al-Sayyid who received the KFIP Prize for Islamic studies and the Arabic Language Academy of Jordan which received the KFIP Prize for Arabic Language and Literature.
Kishimoto, who is a professor at the university’s Immunology Frontier Research Center and Emeritus Professor at Osaka University, was recognized for his prominent role in developing a novel biologic therapy for autoimmune diseases.
“The King Faisal International Prize deserves to be commended for encouraging efforts in the knowledge and research arena around the world. I am proud to be a recipient of this renowned prize, which has this year helped draw attention to the importance of immunology. This award will help further enrich research based initiatives to understand more about the human immune system,” Kishimoto said.
For more than 30 years, Kishimoto has been studying the cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6), its receptor and signaling pathways. He established the physiological function of the IL-6 pathway and its role in inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Subsequently, he developed an IL-6 receptor-blocking antibody into a biological therapy, leading the clinical development of this therapy towards the first approval for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.
Kishimoto is also a recipient of the Order of Culture from the Emperor of Japan in 1998 and Royal Decoration from the Kingdom of Thailand in 2012, apart from several other honours.
Launched by the King Faisal Foundation and granted for the first time in 1979, the King Faisal International Prize recognizes the outstanding works of individuals and institutions in a number of key areas. Scientists who were awarded the King Faisal International Prize have gone on to receive other prestigious awards in following years; for example 18 King Faisal International Prize laureates went on to receive the Nobel Prize, while 13 won the Gairdner Foundation International Awards, 11 received the American National Medals of Science, and nine were awarded the Lasker Medical Award; among other distinguished prizes.
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Source: King Faisal Foundation.
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