Yoshinori Ohsumi facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Yoshinori Ohsumi
Ohsumi in 2016
Born	(1945-02-09) February 9, 1945 (age 80) Fukuoka, Japan
Alma mater	University of Tokyo (BSc, DSc)
Known for	Autophagy
Awards	Kyoto Prize (2012) Gairdner Foundation International Award (2015) Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine (2016) Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences (2017)
Scientific career
Fields	Cell biologist
Institutions	Institute of Science Tokyo Tokyo Institute of Technology

Yoshinori Ohsumi (大隅 良典, Ōsumi Yoshinori, born February 9, 1945) is a Japanese cell biologist. He is famous for his work on autophagy. This is a natural process where cells clean up and recycle their old or damaged parts. It's like a tiny recycling plant inside each of our cells!

Ohsumi is a professor at the Institute of Innovative Research in Tokyo, Japan. He has received many important awards for his discoveries. These include the Kyoto Prize in 2012, the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine in 2016, and the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences in 2017. These awards recognized his amazing discoveries about how autophagy works.

About Yoshinori Ohsumi

Ohsumi speaking at the Gairdner Foundation International Award Ceremony in October 2015.

Ohsumi with other scientists, including John Dirks.

Yoshinori Ohsumi was born in Fukuoka, Japan, on February 9, 1945. He studied at the University of Tokyo. He earned his first science degree in 1967 and a higher science degree in 1974.

After finishing his studies in Japan, he moved to New York City. From 1974 to 1977, he worked as a researcher at Rockefeller University. This was a chance for him to learn even more about science.

His Career in Japan

In 1977, Ohsumi returned to the University of Tokyo. He started as a research associate. Over the years, he moved up in his career. He became a lecturer in 1986 and an associate professor in 1988.

In 1996, he moved to the National Institute for Basic Biology, Japan. There, he became a full professor. He also taught at the Graduate University for Advanced Studies from 2004 to 2009.

After 2009, he continued his important research and teaching. He became a professor at the Tokyo Institute of Technology. Even after officially retiring in 2014, he kept working as a professor. Today, he leads the Cell Biology Research Unit at the Tokyo Institute of Technology.

Discovering Autophagy

The idea of "autophagy" was first named by a scientist named Christian de Duve in 1963. But very few scientists studied it back then. Yoshinori Ohsumi started his research on autophagy in 1988.

His work changed everything! During the 1990s, Ohsumi and his team made big discoveries. They studied autophagy in yeast cells. Yeast cells are simple, which makes them great for studying basic cell processes.

Ohsumi's team found out how autophagy looks inside yeast cells. They also found the special genes that cells need for autophagy to happen. These discoveries were super important. They helped other scientists understand how cells clean themselves.

In 2016, Ohsumi received the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine. He won it for his amazing discoveries about how autophagy works. He was the 25th Japanese person to win a Nobel Prize. His wife, Mariko, who is also a professor, worked with him on some of his research.

Awards and Honors

Ohsumi in his lab at Tokyo Tech.

Yoshinori Ohsumi has received many important awards for his scientific work. Here are some of them:

See also

In Spanish: Yoshinori Ohsumi para niños

• List of Japanese Nobel laureates
• List of Nobel laureates affiliated with the University of Tokyo