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Message from the JSPS President on the occasion of Professor SAKAGUCHI Shimon being awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
October 8, 2025
We extend our heartfelt congratulations to Professor SAKAGUCHI Shimon, Specially Appointed Professor at the Immunology Frontier Research Center (WPI-IFReC) at the University of Osaka, on being honored with a recipient of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
Professor Sakaguchi’s research delves into the regulation of immune responses — a process that lies at the core of biological phenomena. His steady accumulation of basic research over many years has culminated in this well-deserved international recognition.
The main basis for awarding Professor Sakaguchi this year was his discovery of regulatory T cells — key players in the regulation of the immune response — first published in 1995. Subsequent achievements by Professor Sakaguchi related to regulatory T cells — including the identification of the transcription factor Foxp3, a molecular trigger essential for their differentiation — have also been supported by Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (KAKENHI). Professor Sakaguchi has been actively engaged at WPI-IFReC, a globally recognized research center in the field of immunology. We are pleased to note that his many years of research have garnered international recognition and are highly esteemed within the academic community.
The Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) supports original and trailblazing research, rooted in autonomous intellectual exploration, through various programs, including the Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (KAKENHI).
The awarding of this Nobel Prize to Professor Sakaguchi underscores the significance of sustained support for basic science and serves as a tremendous source of encouragement for those engaged in basic research, as well as for early-career researchers.
We at JSPS are committed to fulfilling our mission by supporting original and diverse research driven by researchers’ unconventional ideas, as well as the ambitious endeavors of early-career researchers, thereby contributing more than ever to global progress through academic research — the wellspring of innovation.
Professor Sakaguchi’s research delves into the regulation of immune responses — a process that lies at the core of biological phenomena. His steady accumulation of basic research over many years has culminated in this well-deserved international recognition.
The main basis for awarding Professor Sakaguchi this year was his discovery of regulatory T cells — key players in the regulation of the immune response — first published in 1995. Subsequent achievements by Professor Sakaguchi related to regulatory T cells — including the identification of the transcription factor Foxp3, a molecular trigger essential for their differentiation — have also been supported by Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (KAKENHI). Professor Sakaguchi has been actively engaged at WPI-IFReC, a globally recognized research center in the field of immunology. We are pleased to note that his many years of research have garnered international recognition and are highly esteemed within the academic community.
The Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) supports original and trailblazing research, rooted in autonomous intellectual exploration, through various programs, including the Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (KAKENHI).
The awarding of this Nobel Prize to Professor Sakaguchi underscores the significance of sustained support for basic science and serves as a tremendous source of encouragement for those engaged in basic research, as well as for early-career researchers.
We at JSPS are committed to fulfilling our mission by supporting original and diverse research driven by researchers’ unconventional ideas, as well as the ambitious endeavors of early-career researchers, thereby contributing more than ever to global progress through academic research — the wellspring of innovation.
SUGINO Tsuyoshi
President
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
President
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
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