Takeharu Nagai (Prof. SANKEN, Osaka Univ.) has been award The Ymazaki-Teiichi Prize.
The Yamazaki-Teiichi Prize was founded in 2001 in commemoration of the late Teiichi Yamazaki, the first Chairman of MST's Board of Directors for his achievements in science, technology and industrial development, and his contributions to the development of human resources with the aim of contributing to improvements in the level of science and technology, and its dissemination and edification. The candidates of the award are those who have achieved outstanding creative results which lead to practical applications through the publication of technical papers, acquisition of patents, development of methods and technology. (extracted a passage from The Ymazaki-Teiichi Prize website)
Title of contribution
Development and Application of High Performance Chemiluminescent Proteins
Abstract
After developing various fluorescent proteins, Dr. Nagai worked on the development of chemiluminescent proteins that do not require excitation light to compensate for the weakness of fluorescence detection. In order to enhance the dim luminescence signal, he developed a variety of innovative chemiluminescent proteins with several tens of times higher luminescence intensity by using energy transfer from the luminescent enzyme (luciferase) to the fluorescent protein. Using these proteins, he succeeded for the first time in the world in detecting cancer tissue and brain activity in real time in individual mice under free-moving conditions. In addition, he has developed a luminescence imaging system in collaboration with a company. In addition, he has developed a functional protein that changes its luminescence color upon binding to a target molecule, and devised a simple method for testing by combining it with a smart phone. Furthremore, he is currently working on creating self-luminescent plants by incorporating luminescent proteins and substrate production genes into plants, creating a luminescent art business, and addressing environmental issues.
Comments
I am honored and humbled to have been given the opportunity to be included in the end of the prestigious Teiichi-Yamazaki Prize. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all the wonderful members of SANKEN and my laboratory, my collaborators in Japan and abroad, and everyone involved. I will not be ashamed of this honor, and continue to strive in my research to reach even higher peaks.