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Professor Yasushi Okada wins the 16th Nakatani Award Grand Prize
Takuro Ideguchi, Associate Professor, Institute for Photon Science and Technology
Professor Yasushi Okada of Department of Physics was awarded the 16th Nakatani Grand Prize. The Nakatani Award is given to researchers who have made outstanding achievements in the field of medical engineering measurement technology. Professor Okada received the Grand Prize for "Development of Single Molecule and Super-resolution Fluorescence Microscopy and its Application to Cell Biology Research.
Professor Yasushi Okada
Super-resolution fluorescence microscopy is a technique for visualizing microscopic structures that cannot be observed with conventional optical microscopy, and has contributed greatly to biological research. This technology is widely recognized and the developers were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2014. Professor Okada has developed a unique technique called spinning disk super-resolution microscopy, which is about 10 times faster than conventional super-resolution microscopy. Using this technique, he was the first in the world to observe the movement of various intracellular organelles active in living cells, and made discoveries that led to a revision of findings described in conventional textbooks. Furthermore, we have succeeded in direct observation of genes and expression regulators. This technique has been transferred to microscope manufacturers and is widely used around the world.
These series of studies are innovative because they developed original observation techniques to confront fundamental questions in biology and revealed new findings through observations for the first time in the world. I would like to extend my sincere congratulations on receiving this award and wish him continued success in his future endeavors.
Published in The Rigakubu News May 2024