KEIO UNIVERSITY MEDICAL SCIENCE FUND


The 2017 Keio Medical Science Prize Awardees

John E. Dick PhD FRS

John E. Dick PhD FRS

Canada Research Chair in Stem Cell Biology and Senior Scientist, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network ; and Professor, Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto



Website
http://www.uhnresearch.ca/researcher/john-e-dick

Reason for Selection

Identification of cancer stem cells

Tissue stem cells exhibit the capacity for self-renewal and differentiation into cells of various types. These multipotent stem cells are the principal source of the cells in adult tissue. The idea that stem cells might also be present in cancer tissues, i.e., the "cancer stem cell hypothesis," was first proposed long ago, but bona fide cancer stem cells were not isolated for many years. Professor John E. Dick was the first to isolate cells expressing hematopoietic stem cell surface markers from human leukemia cells, and transplant them into immunocompromised mice. This provided the first evidence that human leukemia can be maintained in mice, and the first indication that stem cells are present and active in leukemia. Beginning with these findings, the field of cancer stem cell research has continued to advance and it has since become clear that cancer stem cells play roles in solid tumors as well. Cancer stem cells are more resistant to therapeutic interventions than normal cancer cells, and serve as source cells in cancer recurrence and metastasis. Professor Dick 's contribution is immeasurable, as he gave rise to the idea that cancer stem cells must be destroyed for cancers to be eradicated.

Background

1974
Registered Radiological Technologist, Misericordia General Hospital
1978
B.Sc. (Hons) Dept. of Microbiology, University of Manitoba
1984
Ph.D. Microbiology and Biochemistry, University of Manitoba
1978-1984
Graduate Student, Dr. J. Wright, Department of Microbiology and Manitoba Institute of Cell Biology,niversity of Manitoba, NSERC Scholarship, MHRC Scholarship
1984-1986
Post-doctoral Fellow, Dr. A. Bernstein, Ontario Cancer Institute and Mount Sinai Hospital, Research Institute, University of Toronto MRC Post-doctoral Fellowship
1986-1991
Scientist, Department of Genetics, Research Institute Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto
1987-1991
Assistant Professor, Department of Molecular and Medical Genetics, University of Toronto, Toronto
1989-1996
Research Scientist of the National Cancer Institute of Canada
1991-1995
Associate Professor, Department of Molecular and Medical Genetics, University of Toronto
1991-2002
Senior Scientist, Department of Genetics, Research Institute, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto
1995-Present
Professor, Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto
1996-2001
Medical Research Council of Canada Scientist
2002-Present
Canada Research Chair in Stem Cell Biology, Senior Scientist, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto
2007-Present
Investigator, McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine, University Health Network, Toronto
2007-2017
Director, Program in Cancer Stem Cells, Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, (OICR), Toronto
2017-Present
Director, Translational Research Initiative in Leukemia, Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, (OICR), Toronto

Comments

It is with gratitude that I accept the Keio Medical Science Prize. Science is not done in isolation and I have had the good fortune to be surrounded by wonderful colleagues in Toronto who set the highest standards for scientific thought that continuously challenged me to tackle biological challenges with rigour and clear thinking. All of our work on the biology of normal and leukemic human stem cells was the cumulative effort of many students and post-docs who contributed so much to the thinking and execution of the experimental findings. I dedicate this award to them.

Seiji Ogawa, Ph D

Seiji Ogawa, Ph D

Research Professor, Kansei Fukushi Research Center, Tohoku Fukushi University

Reason for Selection

Development of functional MRI

Professor Seiji Ogawa developed a technique for detecting MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) signals that depends on blood oxygenation levels in the brain, which he named BOLD (for Blood Oxygen Level Dependent). Professor Ogawa has shown that BOLD signals can be used in functional mapping of the human brain following sensory stimulation, establishing the basic principles underlying functional MRI (fMRI). fMRI in turn has paved the way to the mapping of human brain activity non-invasively and without the use of radioactive isotopes. The ability to measure whole brain activity, which enables the investigation of distributed patterns of activity as well as functional localization of the brain, is one of key advantages of fMRI. New applications of fMRI, such as decoding of brain activity and identification of biomarkers of neuropsychiatric disease, continue to be developed. Professor Ogawa's pioneering work on fMRI is a milestone technology that plays indispensable roles in contemporary neuroscience.

Background

1957
B.S., Applied Physics University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
1967
PhD in Chemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
1962 - 1964
Research Associate, Radiation Research Laboratories
Mellon Institute, Pittsburgh, PA
1967 -1968
Postdoctoral Fellow, Stanford University, Stanford, CA
1968-1983
Member of the Technical Staff Principal Investigator, Biophysics Research
Bell Laboratories, AT&T, Murray Hill, NJ
1984-2001
Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff, Biophysics Research/Biological Computation Research Bell Laboratories, AT&T/ Lucent Technologies, Murray Hill, NJ
2001-2004
Visiting Professor, Biophysics/Physiology Department Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Yeshiva University Bronx, New York
2001-2008
Director, Ogawa Laboratories for Brain Function Research Hamano Life Science Research Foundation, Tokyo, Japan
2008-present
Professor (special appointment), Kansei Fukushi Research Center, Tohoku Fukushi University, Sendai, Japan
2008-2012
Visiting Professor, Graduate School of Human Relations, Keio University, Tokyo, Japan
2008-2013
Visiting Professor, Neuroscience Research Institute, Gachon University, Incheon, Korea
2009-2016
Visiting Professor, Biophysics/Physiology Department Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Yeshiva University, Bronx, New York
2011-2015
R&D Advisor, National Institute of Information and Communication Technology

Comments

It is a great honor to receive the prestigious Keio Medical Science Prize and to join the ranks of the renowned previous laureates. The MRI phenomenon I encountered during my fundamental research a quarter of century ago has seen applications in brain science far beyond my expectations at the time. The successful development of the neuro-imaging field is the product of efforts by great many talented scientists around the world.

Past Prize Laureates