Citation

The Winners of the Okawa Prize 2023

For outstanding contributions to advanced cancer research, such as
whole-genome sequencing, through the utilization of supercomputers

Dr. Satoru Miyano
Positions and Organizations :Specially Appointed Professor and Director, M&D Data Science
Center, Tokyo Medical and Dental University
Professor Emeritus, The University of Tokyo
Date of Birth : December 5, 1954
Degree :Ph.D. (Kyushu University, 1984)
Brief Biography :1977 BS, Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science,
Kyushu University
1979 MS, Department of Mathematics, Graduate School ofScience, Kyushu University
1979 Withdrew from Ph.D. Program in Graduate School ofScience, Kyushu University
1979 Assistant, Faculty of Science, Kyushu University
1984 Doctor of Science, Kyushu University
1985 Researcher, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
1987 Associate Professor, Faculty of Science, Kyushu University
1993 Professor, Faculty of Science, Kyushu University
1996 Professor, Human Genome Center, Institute of Medical
Science, The University of Tokyo
2014 Director, Human Genome Center, Institute of Medical
Science, The University of Tokyo
2015 President, Kanagawa Cancer Center (concurrent post)2020 Director, M&D Data Science Center,
Tokyo Medical and Dental University
Professor Emeritus, The University of Tokyo
Main Awards and Honors
1994 Japan IBM Science Prize
1994 IPSJ Sakai Special Researcher Award
2013 Fellow, International Society for Computational Biology
2016 Uehara Prize
2020 The Healthy Society Award
Main Achievements:
To understand the pathogenesis of cancer, which arises due togenomic variations in cells, it is vital to identify abnormalities in thegenome related to the onset of cancer and to elucidate their functional consequences. Innovations in genome sequencing technology in2008 made it possible to decode an entire cancer genome andcomprehensively identify genomic abnormalities related to cancer.
At the same time, analyzing, on a large scale and to a high degree ofprecision, gene expression data and variations that manipulate
cellular systems as consequences of such genomic abnormalities, has
become a crucial aspect of research.

Center, and it is not an exaggeration to say that this has been underpinned by Dr. Miyano's dedicated efforts.
With the idea of fusing supercomputers and mathematical methods
with cancer research, Dr. Miyano brought together leading figures incancer research in Japan and established the new academic fields of"systems cancer" and "new dimensions in systems cancer" underJapan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science andTechnology (FY2010–2019). One of the notable achievements is thejoint research with Professor Seishi Ogawa (currently Professor atthe Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University) on elucidating
the causative genes for myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) (Nature,2011). In addition to being a landmark study in elucidating thepathogenesis of MDS, this study was also the first in the world todemonstrate the involvement of RNA splicing somatic mutations inhuman cancer development, making it a historical discovery in thefield of cancer genomics. Starting with this breakthrough in MDSelucidation, Dr. Miyano, as a pioneering figure in innovative cancer
research, organized an analytical framework based on supercomputing for the extensive analysis of cancer genome sequencing data andgene expression data. Along with collaborating researchers, herealized many prominent achievements that led the world in the fieldof cancer pathogenesis. As a result of whole-genome sequencing, heshed light on the fact that structural abnormalities in the untranslated
region of the right end of the PD-L1 gene, which is a component ofimmune checkpoints, are involved in the mechanism by whichcancer cells evade the immune system. This achievement garneredglobal attention (Nature, 2016). In recognition of this series ofachievements, he was awarded the Uehara Prize in 2016 jointly withProfessor Ogawa. He also contributed to the utilization of the "K"and "Fugaku" supercomputers in generating research outcomes.
Thus, Dr. Miyano has been a world-leading figure for many years in
the field of computational biology, using supercomputers in cancer
research and other areas of study. In 2013, his significant contributions were acknowledged when he became the first Asian to beelected as a Fellow of the International Society for ComputationalBiology. In 2011, he formed a team at the University of Tokyo's
Institute of Medical Science and realized genomic medicine forcancer based on whole-genome sequencing. His achievements havebeen consistently featured in various media outlets, including thosefrom overseas. In 2020, he was presented with the Healthy SocietyAward (Pioneer Category).
Dr. Satoru Miyano has made advanced contributions to cancer
research, such as whole-genome sequencing, through the utilizationof supercomputers. In recognition of these contributions, he ishereby awarded the Okawa Prize.

Dr. Satoru Miyano designed a system that enables cancer genome
research at the world's highest level, even before the advent of theera of large-scale genomic data analysis. This system was realized in
the form of the supercomputer "SHIROKANE" at the Human
Genome Center under the University of Tokyo's Institute of MedicalScience. Currently, much of Japan's whole-genome sequencing
research for cancer relies heavily on the supercomputer at this3