Group Director Yoshiki Sasai wins Inoue Science Prize

February 3, 2012 –Yoshiki Sasai, Group Director of the Laboratory for Organogenesis and Neurogenesis has been awarded the 28th Inoue Science Prize for his achievement of “self-organized formation of central nervous system neurons in vitro through the application of developmental controls.” Established by the Inoue Foundation for Science in 1984, this award recognizes breakthrough work by researchers in the basic sciences younger than 50 years old.

Sasai has made many fundamental discoveries in the molecular mechanisms underlying neuronal differentiation and organogenesis from embryonic stem (ES) cells. In 2011, his group further showed that ES cells can be induced to self-organize into structures resembling the optic cup and pituitary gland (hypophysis) in vitro.

The Inoue Science Prize was awarded at a ceremony in Tokyo on February 3.