Seiji Ogawa is a Japanese

Japanese people

The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...

 researcher best known for discovering the technique that underlies Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Functional magnetic resonance imaging

Functional magnetic resonance imaging or functional MRI is a type of specialized MRI scan used to measure the hemodynamic response related to neural activity in the brain or spinal cord of humans or other animals. It is one of the most recently developed forms of neuroimaging...

 (fMRI). He determined that the contrast in blood oxygen levels can be mapped in magnetic resonance imaging, thus showing which areas of the brain respond to the brain's electrical signals. The technique was thus called Blood-oxygen-level dependent or BOLD.

Honors

• 1995 GOLD Medal Award from Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine
• 1996 Biological Physics Prize
  Max Delbruck Prize
  The Max Delbruck Prize, formerly known as the Biological physics prize, is awarded by the Division of Biological Physics of the American Physical Society, to recognize and encourage outstanding achievement in biological physics research. The prize was established in 1981, and renamed for Max...
  
   of the American Physical Society
• 1998 Nakayama Prize from Nakayama Foundation for Human Science, Japan
• 2000 Member of Institute of Medicine
  Institute of Medicine
  The Institute of Medicine is a not-for-profit, non-governmental American organization founded in 1970, under the congressional charter of the National Academy of Sciences...
  
  
• 2003 Japan Prize
  Japan Prize
  is awarded to people from all parts of the world whose "original and outstanding achievements in science and technology are recognized as having advanced the frontiers of knowledge and served the cause of peace and prosperity for mankind."- Explanation :...
  
  
• 2003 Gairdner Foundation International Award
  Gairdner Foundation International Award
  The Gairdner Foundation International Award is given annually at a special dinner to three to six people for outstanding discoveries or contributions to medical science. Receipt of the Gairdner is traditionally considered a precursor to winning the Nobel Prize in Medicine; as of 2007, 69 Nobel...
  
  
• 2007 International Society of Magnetic Resonance Prize
• 2008 Olli V. Lounasmaa Memorial Prize of Finland