DATE2021.09.15 #Awards & Prizes

Professor Osamu Nureki receives the 26th Keio Medical Science Prize

   Professor Osamu Nureki

We would like to congratulate Professor Osamu Nureki in the Department of Biological Sciences for being awarded the Keio Medical Science Prize. The Keio Medical Prize is given to researchers who have made outstanding achievements and contributions to the field of medicine.

As a world leader in structural biology, Professor Nureki has elucidated the three-dimensional structures of various proteins and nucleic acids that play important roles in cells. He determined the crystal structures of tRNA-related enzymes, such as aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases, and ribonucleoprotein complexes, such as CRISPR-Cas9, which is widely used as a genome editing tool in recent years, and elucidated the precise molecular mechanisms by which proteins and nucleic acids function coordinately. Furthermore, he determined the structures of various membrane proteins, such as ion channels, transporters, and G-protein-coupled receptors, and elucidated a variety of membrane transport mechanisms. Professor Nureki has solved these challenging problems by using cutting-edge technologies, such as the lipidic cubic phase method, X-ray free electron laser, and cryo-electron microscopy.

The results of his work have led to applications in drug discovery and disease treatment, and have made a significant impact in a wide range of fields in the life sciences. Professor Nureki has also launched drug discovery startups, such as "Modalis" for genome editing and "Curio" for structural analysis, under the motto of "the foundation of the foundation is application".

The Keio Medical Science Prize
https://www.ms-fund.keio.ac.jp/en/

(Professor Hiroshi Nishimasu,  Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology)