Shinya Yamanaka
Born 1962 · Age 63
Japanese physician-scientist who discovered induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells; professor, director emeritus of CiRA (Kyoto Univ.), senior investigator at Gladstone Institutes, Nobel laureate (2012).
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Life & Career Timeline
Born in Higashiōsaka, Osaka, Japan
Shinya Yamanaka was born in Higashiōsaka. His father ran a small factory producing components for sawing machines.
Entered Tennōji Junior High (attached to Osaka Kyoiku University) and joined judo
Entered the junior high attached to Osaka Kyoiku University; joined the judo team on his father's recommendation.
Accepted to Kobe University School of Medicine
Succeeded in being accepted to Kobe University's School of Medicine; began medical studies and pursued sports (judo, rugby).
Received M.D. from Kobe University
Graduated from Kobe University School of Medicine with an M.D. degree.
Began residency in orthopedic surgery at National Osaka Hospital
Served as an orthopedic surgery resident at National Osaka Hospital (two-year residency).
Marriage to Chika (approx.)
Married Chika, a classmate from junior high who later became a dermatologist; marriage occurred during his residency period (1987–1989).
Switched to research and enrolled for Ph.D. in pharmacology
Became a Ph.D. student in pharmacology at Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine (mentor Kenjiro Yamamoto / Katsuyuki Miura).
Awarded Ph.D. from Osaka City University
Completed Ph.D. (pharmacology); Ph.D. dissertation work on platelet-activating factor published in Circulation Research in 1993.
Began postdoctoral fellowship at Gladstone Institute (San Francisco)
Joined Thomas Innerarity's lab at the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases to learn mouse transgenesis and gene targeting techniques.
Generated Apobec1 transgenic mice (postdoc research)
Created liver Apobec1-overexpressing transgenic mice that unexpectedly developed liver tumors; led to discovery of Nat1 editing as a target.
Family returned to Japan; daughters living in Osaka
Wife Chika and daughters Mika and Miki returned to Japan to enroll Mika in elementary school; Yamanaka followed about six months later.
Returned to Japan and appointed assistant professor at Osaka City University Medical School
After postdoc years at Gladstone, returned to Japan; obtained assistant professorship in pharmacology and continued Nat1/ES cell studies.
Set long-term goal of nuclear reprogramming to generate ES-like cells from somatic cells
At NAIST, decided to aim to generate pluripotent cells from somatic cells without using embryos; assembled core students and staff.
Appointed Associate Professor at Nara Institute of Science and Technology (NAIST)
Received first laboratory-head position (associate professor) at NAIST; established his own lab and began long-term ES cell/nuclear reprogramming project.
Identification and targeting of Fbxo15 (early NAIST work)
Lab identified Fbxo15 as an ES-cell–specific gene; created Fbxo15-knockout/neoR knock-in mice which later became a reporter system for iPS selection.
Promoted to full professor at Nara Institute of Science and Technology
Became full professor at NAIST, continuing work on ES cells and genetic factors that maintain pluripotency.
Moved to Kyoto University (Institute for Frontier Medical Sciences) as professor
Moved with several lab members and the Fbxo15 reporter system to Kyoto University to work with human ES cells and continue reprogramming experiments.
Compiled 24 candidate pluripotency genes
By 2004 his group had collected 24 candidate transcription-factor genes potentially capable of inducing pluripotency in somatic cells.
Achieved reprogramming of mouse somatic cells to ES-like state with four factors
Kazutoshi Takahashi (lab member) discovered that four transcription factors (Oct3/4, Sox2, Klf4, c-Myc) induced ES-like pluripotency in mouse fibroblasts; coined term 'iPS cells' (induced pluripotent stem cells).
Named and introduced the term 'iPS cells' (induced pluripotent stem cells)
Following successful generation of ES-like cells from somatic cells, his group introduced the term 'induced pluripotent stem cells' (iPS cells).
Published Cell paper on induction of mouse iPS cells (Takahashi & Yamanaka 2006)
Published landmark paper demonstrating generation of induced pluripotent stem cells from adult mouse fibroblasts using defined factors (Cell, 2006).
Several laboratories replicate mouse iPS protocol (validation and rapid uptake)
After the 2006 Cell paper, labs at MIT and Harvard and others confirmed and replicated the findings, leading to rapid global adoption of the iPS technology.
Published follow-up work improving iPS methods (germline-competent iPS, omission of c-Myc)
Lab and collaborators published papers showing iPS cells could be germline-competent and that c-Myc could be omitted (reducing oncogenic risk).
Appointed Senior Investigator at Gladstone Institutes (San Francisco)
Offered and accepted a senior investigator position at the Gladstone Institutes while maintaining labs in Kyoto and San Francisco.
Recognized by Time magazine as 'Person Who Mattered' and Time 100 finalist
Featured in Time Person of the Year edition (2007) and named a 2008 Time 100 Finalist.
Received multiple 2007 awards (Meyenburg, Asahi, Osaka Science Prize, etc.)
Awarded Meyenburg Cancer Research Award, Asahi Prize, Osaka Science Prize and possibly other recognitions in 2007 for stem-cell work.
Reported generation of human iPS cells (Nov 2007)
Published Cell paper reporting derivation of human iPS cells from adult human fibroblasts using the same quartet of factors (published Nov 2007).
Kyoto University founds Center for iPS Cell Research and Applications (CiRA); Yamanaka appointed Director
In January 2008 Kyoto University established CiRA, the world's first organization solely focusing on iPS cell technology; Yamanaka named Director.
Received major international prizes in 2008 (Shaw Prize, Robert Koch Prize, Massry Prize, others)
In 2008 he received the Shaw Prize in Life Science & Medicine, Robert Koch Prize, Massry Prize and other honors recognizing iPS discovery.
Received Golden Plate Award from American Academy of Achievement
Honored at the Academy of Achievement's banquet (Kona, Hawaii) in July 2008.
Led establishment of the knockout-mouse core facility at NAIST (completed within a few years)
With technician Tomoko Ichisaka and funding, established a knockout mouse core; first targeted gene was Fbxo15, later used in iPS selection assays.
Established active collaboration and dual-lab arrangement with Gladstone/UC San Francisco
Since 2007–2008 maintained labs in both Kyoto (CiRA) and San Francisco (Gladstone/UCSF) to facilitate translation and collaborations.
Received Gairdner International Award and Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award (2009)
Received two of the most prestigious biomedical awards in 2009 recognizing his iPS cell discovery.
Named Person of Cultural Merit and received Japan's Order of Culture (2010 and 2012 respectively)
Recognized by the Japanese government with cultural honors: Person of Cultural Merit (2010) and later Order of Culture (2012).
Received Kyoto Prize, Balzan Prize, BBVA Frontiers of Knowledge Award and other honors
Won multiple major awards in 2010 recognizing contributions to biotechnology and stem cell research; also awarded honorary Doctor of Science by Mount Sinai.
CiRA becomes independent institute; inauguration ceremony and 10-year goals announced
In April 2010 CiRA separated from iCeMS as a full institute in a new research building; Yamanaka publicly pledged four 10-year goals for CiRA.
Ran inaugural Osaka Marathon as charity runner
Competed in the inaugural Osaka Marathon (2011) finishing in 4:29:53 to support charity causes.
Shared McEwen Award prize money with Kazutoshi Takahashi
Received inaugural McEwen Award for Innovation (2011) and shared the $100,000 prize with Kazutoshi Takahashi (lead author on original iPS paper).
Received Wolf Prize in Medicine (2011) and McEwen Award for Innovation
Awarded the Wolf Prize in Medicine (shared with Rudolf Jaenisch) and the inaugural McEwen Award for Innovation (shared prize money $100,000 with Kazutoshi Takahashi).
Elected Fellow of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (NAS)
Elected as a Fellow/member of the National Academy of Sciences in 2012 in recognition of sustained excellence in research.
Awarded the Millennium Technology Prize (shared with Linus Torvalds)
Received the Millennium Technology Prize in June 2012; prize total was €1.2 million shared between the two laureates (Yamanaka's share ≈ €600,000).
Ran Kyoto Marathon to raise online donations for CiRA
Ran the full Kyoto Marathon in 2012 to raise funds; campaign raised more than ¥10,000,000 (over 10 million yen) online.
Awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (announcement)
Jointly awarded the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with John Gurdon "for the discovery that mature cells can be reprogrammed to become pluripotent."
Nobel Prize award ceremony in Stockholm
Received Nobel Prize medal and diploma at the Stockholm Concert Hall; mother attended the ceremony.
Appointed Member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences
Named a member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences in November 2013.
Delivered Nobel Prize lecture and activities related to Nobel award
Participated in Nobel Prize related events (lecture, ceremonies, interviews, photo sessions) following the 2012 Nobel award; published autobiographical entry for Nobel biography series.
Awarded Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences
Received the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences (2013) with monetary award of USD 3,000,000 for his work on iPS cells.
Faced public scrutiny during the 2014 stem-cell scandal (Haruko Obokata affair)
In July 2014 Yamanaka and his group faced public scrutiny over related work lacking full documentation amid a larger scandal involving fabricated data by another researcher; Yamanaka denied manipulating images but noted missing raw lab notes for some experiments.
Recognized for ongoing scientific leadership and reviews (multiple publications)
Continued to publish influential reviews and papers summarizing a decade of iPS research and translational prospects (e.g., Nat Rev Drug Discov review 2017 originated from ongoing work in 2016–2017).
First-in-human autologous iPSC-derived retinal cell transplantation (NEJM publication participation)
Group including Yamanaka's collaborators reported autologous iPSC-derived retinal cell transplantation for macular degeneration (NEJM 2017, Mandai et al.), a major translational milestone for iPS applications.
Personal-best marathon: Beppu-Ōita Marathon 3:25:20
Achieved personal best marathon time of 3:25:20 at the 2018 Beppu-Ōita Marathon (reflects ongoing involvement in long-distance running).
Contribution to clinical trial planning for iPSC-based spinal cord injury therapy (protocol publication)
Co-author on the study protocol for the first-in-human clinical trial of transplantation of iPSC-derived neural stem/progenitor cells for subacute complete spinal cord injury (publication 2021).
Stepped down as Director of CiRA; became Director Emeritus
In April 2022 Yamanaka retired as director and assumed the title of Director Emeritus of the Center for iPS Cell Research and Application while maintaining a professorship.
CiRA/colleagues publish clinical-grade HLA haplobank paper
Co-author on a 2023 publication describing a clinical-grade HLA haplobank of human iPS cells matching ~40% of the Japanese population — major step toward allogeneic iPSC therapy.
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