Press Release

September 13, 2018
Keio University

Announcement of The Keio Medical Science Prize 2018
Keio University annually awards The Keio Medical Science Prize to recognize researchers who have made anoutstanding contribution to the fields of medicine or the life sciences. It is the only prize of its kind awarded by aJapanese university, and 7 laureates of this Prize have later won the Nobel Prize. The 23rd Keio Medical Science Prize
is awarded to Prof. Feng Zhang and Prof. Masashi Yanagisawa.

1. Laureates
Feng Zhang, Ph.D.

Masashi Yanagisawa, M.D., Ph.D.
・James and Patricia Poitras
Professor of Neuroscience,
Massachusetts Institute ofTechnology・Core Institute Member,
The Broad Institute of MITand Harvard・Director and Professor,
International Institute forIntegrative Sleep Medicine(WPI-IIIS), University ofTsukuba“Development of CRISPR/Cas system in mammalian “Elucidation of sleep control mechanisms andcells and application for medical science”
applications in drug discovery”

2. Award Ceremony and Events
The award ceremony and commemorative lectures will be held on December 18, 2018 at Keio University School ofMedicine, located on Keio University’s Shinanomachi Campus.

Award Ceremony and Commemorative Lectures
Date & Time: December 18, 2018, 14:00-17:30Venue:
Kitasato Memorial Hall, Keio University School of Medicine, Shinanomachi Campus, Tokyo, Japan
Language:
English and JapaneseSimultaneous translation available (English-Japanese/Japanese-English)
Admission:
Open to the public
Attachments:(1) The Keio Medical Science Prize(2) The Keio Medical Science Prize Laureate 2018

Inquiries: Secretariat, Keio University Medical Science Fund
TEL: +81-3-5363-3609
FAX: +81-3-5363-3215
Publisher: Office of General Affairs, Keio University School of Medicine
TEL: +81-3-5363-3611
FAX: +81-3-5363-3612
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URL: http://www.ms-fund.keio.ac.jp/E-mail: k-msf@adst.keio.ac.jpURL: http://www.med.keio.ac.jp/en/
E-mail: med-koho@adst.keio.ac.jp

Attachment (1)The Keio Medical Science Prize
1. BackgroundIn the fall of 1994, Dr. Mitsunada Sakaguchi, a 1940 alumnus of the School of Medicine, donated five billion yen to Keio
University with the expressed desire that it be used to commend outstanding researchers, to encourage medical researchand its creative progress at Keio through grants, and to promote worldwide medical advances. In keeping with Dr.
Sakaguchi's commitment, Keio launched The Keio University Medical Science Fund on April 1, 1995. Dr. Sakaguchimade an additional donation of two billion yen in July 1999, bringing the fund to a total of seven billion yen.
2. Initiatives
 The Keio Medical Science Prize Grants for International Activities in Medicine and the Life Sciences Medical School Faculty and Alumni Grants Research Award Research Grants for Medicine and the Life Sciences Sakaguchi Laboratory
3. Objective
The Keio Medical Science Prize gives recognition to the outstanding and creative achievements of researchers in thefields of medicine and the life sciences, in particular those contributing to scientific developments in medicine. It aims topromote worldwide advances in medicine and the life sciences, encourage the expansion of researcher networks
throughout the world, and contribute to the well-being of humankind.
4. Prize
Laureates receive a certificate of merit, medal, and a monetary award of 10 million yen. The award ceremony andcommemorative lectures are held at Keio University.
5. Nomination and Selection
The Keio Medical Science Prize is an international award, and each year academics and researchers from around theworld are invited to nominate a candidate. Laureates are then selected through a rigorous review process by about ninety
Japanese academics from both within and outside of Keio University.
6. 2017 Prize LaureatesJohn E. Dick
Identification of cancer stem cells
Seiji Ogawa
Development of functional MRI
7. Nobel Prize Winning Laureates
2015
Yoshinori Ohsumi (The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2016)
Discoveries of mechanisms for autophagy
2010
Jules A. Hoffmann (The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2011)
Discovery of Insect-innate Immune System and Toll Receptors
2006
Thomas A. Steitz (The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2009)
Structural Basis of Large Ribosomal Subunit Function and Drug Development
2004
Roger Y. Tsien (The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2008)Visualization and Control of Molecules within Living Cells
2002
Barry J. Marshall (The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2005)
Establishment of Diagnostic Techniques and Treatment for Helicobacter Pylori
1999
Elizabeth Helen Blackburn (The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2009)
Telomeres and Telomerase
1996
Stanley B. Prusiner (The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1997)
Discovery of Prions and Prion Diseases
2/4Attachment (2a)The Keio Medical Science Prize 2018 Laureate“Development of CRISPR/Cas system in mammalian cells
and application for medical science”
Feng Zhang, Ph.D.
James and Patricia Poitras Professor of Neuroscience, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Core Institute Member, The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
The CRISPR/Cas system has greatly facilitated our ability to make precise changes to the genomes of living cells, andhas rapidly become one of the most powerful and indispensable functional genomics tools. Multiple research groups
contributed to the elucidation of the molecular mechanisms underlying CRISPR/Cas systems. It was Dr. Feng Zhang who
first used the CRISPR/Cas system to edit a mammalian genome in January 2013. Since that time, he has led the geneediting field in two critical directions: advancing our understanding of CRISPR/Cas biology, and developing a versatile
CRISPR toolbox. Dr. Zhang’s contributions in these areas are immeasurable, as the ability to precisely edit the genomeof a living cell holds enormous potential to accelerate life science research, improve biotechnology, and potentially treat
human disease. Dr. Zhang has also trained many researchers in the use of CRISPR/Cas technology through direct
education and by sharing CRISPR/Cas components with academic laboratories around the world to help accelerate globalresearch aimed at benefiting human health.
Education2000 – 2004
2004 – 2009
Positions1997 – 1999
2000 – 2001
2002 – 2004
2004 – 20092009 – 20102011 –2015 –2016 –
2017 –
2018 –A.B., Chemistry and Physics, Harvard College, Cambridge, MA
Ph.D., Chemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, CA

Research Assistant with John P. Levy, Ph.D.
Human Gene Therapy Research Institute, Des Moines, IA
Research Assistant with Don C. Wiley, Ph.D.
Dept. of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
Research Assistant with Xiaowei Zhuang, Ph.D.
Dept. of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
Graduate Student with Karl Deiseroth, Ph.D.
Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CAJunior Fellow, Harvard Society of Fellows, Cambridge, MACore Member, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
Investigator, McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MITW. M. Keck Career Development Professor in Biomedical Engineering,
Departments of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and Biological Engineering,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
Robertson Investigator, New York Stem Cell Foundation
Associate Professor (with tenure) of Neuroscience and Biological Engineering, MIT, Cambridge, MAJames and Patricia Poitras Professor in Neuroscience at MIT
Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Major Honors/Awards
2016
Canada Gairdner International Award2016
Tang Prize
2017
Blavatnik Award for Young Scientists – National Award Winner
2017
Albany Medical Center Price in Medicine and Biomedical Research
2017
Lemelson-MIT Prize

Comments from Professor Zhang
I am greatly honored and humbled to receive the Keio Medical Science Prize, which has been awarded to many
brilliant scientists over the years. Having the work that my team and I have done to develop genome editing tools
recognized in this way is an incredible distinction, and it inspires us to do even more to find ways to improve
human health. On behalf of all the scientists that have contributed to this discovery, thank you.
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Attachment (2b)The Keio Medical Science Prize 2018 Laureate“Elucidation of sleep control mechanisms and applications in drug discovery”
Masashi Yanagisawa, M.D., Ph.D.
Director and Professor, International Institute for Integrative Sleep Medicine (WPI-IIIS),
University of Tsukuba
Dr. Masashi Yanagisawa has made pioneering advances in understanding the mechanisms that control sleep, andhis research has contributed to the discovery of new drugs. In 1991, Dr. Yanagisawa discovered the novel
neurotransmitter orexin, an endogenous ligand for orphan G protein-coupled receptors. On further study, he foundthat orexin controls the sleep/wake cycle; mice with the orexin gene deleted exhibited symptoms of sleeping
disorders, such as narcolepsy. Orexin receptor antagonists have since been developed and marketed bypharmaceutical companies as anti-insomnia medicines. Dr. Yanagisawa has also identified new sleep control genes
using mouse forward genetics methods. A deeper understanding of the molecular basis of sleep control, may lead tonew breakthroughs in the development of treatments for sleep disorders, and the contribution of Dr. Yanagisawa tothis field merits international recognition.
Education and Professional Appointments
1960
Born in Tokyo, Japan1985
M.D. (summa cum laude), University of Tsukuba
1988
Ph.D. in Medical Sciences, University of Tsukuba
1988 – 1989 Postdoctoral fellow, Department of Pharmacology, University of Tsukuba
1989 – 1991 Assistant Professor of Pharmacology, University of Tsukuba
1991 – 1991 Assistant Professor of Pharmacology, Kyoto University School of Medicine
1991 – 1996 Associate Professor of Molecular Genetics; Associate Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical InstituteUniversity of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas (UTSW)
1996 – 2014 Professor of Molecular Genetics, UTSW; Investigator, HHMI
1998 – 2014 The Patrick E. Haggerty Distinguished Chair in Basic Biomedical Science, UTSW
2001 – 2007 Director, Yanagisawa Orphan Receptor Project (JST/ERATO)
2010 – 2014 Professor and Director, FIRST program, University of Tsukuba
2012 – Present Professor and Director, International Institute for Integrative Sleep Medicine (WPI-IIIS),
University of Tsukuba
2014 – Present Adjunct Professor of Molecular Genetics, UTSW
Major Honors/Awards
2000
The Tsukahara Memorial Award, The Brain Science Foundation
2003
Elected Member, National Academy of Sciences
2006
Outstanding Scientific Achievement Award, Sleep Research Society
2016
Medal with Purple Ribbon, Government of Japan2018
The Asahi Prize, Asahi Shimbun Foundation

Comments from Professor Yanagisawa
I am truly honored to receive the prestigious Keio Medical Science Award and feel humbled going through theprominent list of previous laureates. My achievements would not have been possible without the teamwork of my lab
members and esteemed collaborators and I would like to accept this award on behalf of my entire team. Looking back,I realize that exploratory research has always been my style ever since the start of my career. I went into the field ofsleep research not because of my own planning but through simple observations of experimental phenomena. From
here on out, I plan to remain free and unbiased, asking hard questions and exploring the scientific mysteries that lie
before us.
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