It has been announced that former NAIST President and NAIST Professor Emeritus Yasuyuki Yamada and NAIST Honorary Professor Shinya Yamanaka (Director, Center for iPS Cell Research and Application, Kyoto University) will be awarded the Order of Culture.

Former NAIST President Yamada joined the Graduate School of Biological Sciences as a professor in November 1994, after which he served as a review committee member and as Director of the Research and Education Center for Genetic Information. He subsequently served as NAIST President from April 1997 to March 2001.

Professor Shinya Yamanaka came to NAIST as an assistant professor in the Research and Education Center for Genetic Information in December 1999 and was promoted to professor in 2003. He moved to Kyoto University in October 2004, while maintaining his professorship in NAIST's Research and Education Center for Genetic Information until March 2005. From April 2005 to March 2007, he held a Visiting Professor position in NAIST's Graduate School of Biological Sciences.


President Isogai's remarks

"In Celebration of Professor Emeritus Yasuyuki Yamada and Honorary Professor Shinya Yamanaka receiving the Order of Culture"

Professor Yasuyuki Yamada and Professor Shinya Yamanaka will receive the Order of Culture at the Imperial Palace on Nov. 3rd. This is truly an auspicious occasion.

Professor Yamada was involved with NAIST management since its establishment and he became a professor in the Graduate School of Biological Sciences in 1994. During his tenure at NAIST, Professor Yamada introduced globally recognized research results and was a pioneer of Japanese biotechnology, carrying forward the field of plant cell and molecular biology. From 1997, Professor Yamada made significant contributions to NAIST's development as its second university president.

In 1999, Professor Yamanaka was hired as an Assistant Professor at NAIST, where he began investigations that laid the foundation to his research on iPS cells, eventually leading to revolutionary discoveries for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine this year.

It is my understanding that when Professor Yamanaka joined the Research and Education Center for Genetic Information, he had many discussions with Professor Yamada, who then served as NAIST President. It is indeed a joyous occasion for two old friends affiliated with this university to be awarded the Order of Culture at the same time. With this in mind, on behalf of this university, I once again extend my heartfelt congratulations along with my deep appreciation for their immense contributions. For NAIST faculty, researchers, and staff, the achievements of Former President Yamada and Honorary Professor Yamanaka will serve to inspire the further development of our university.