Deputy Director Motonari Uesugi receives Ichimura Academic Award

On April 26, iCeMS Deputy Director Motonari Uesugi received the 49th Ichimura Academic Award.

This award has been given out by the New Technology Development Foundation every year since 1969, to researchers who have made ground-breaking contributions to advances both in basic science and application.

Uesugi was awarded for his research on “synthetic molecules for cell therapy” in which he and his group developed four novel molecules that manipulate and detect fundamentals of human cells with the goal of improving cell therapy and regenerative medicine. Specifically, these four compounds are capable of boosting efficacy of cell transplantation, coaxing the stem cells into heart muscle cells or pancreatic beta-cells, visualizing human pluripotent stem cells (Kyoto Probe-1), and eliminating undifferentiated human stem cells for safer cell transplantation. One of the biggest problems of regenerative therapy is its high cost. These cost-effective, mass-producible chemicals hold promise for decreasing the expenses of regenerative therapy.