, M.D., Ph.D., is a distinguished and highly cited professor at the Department of Host Defense, Osaka University

Osaka University

, or , is a major national university located in Osaka, Japan. It is the sixth oldest university in Japan as the Osaka Prefectural Medical College, and formerly one of the Imperial Universities of Japan...

, Japan. He has made ground-breaking discoveries in the field of immunology, most significantly in the area of innate host defense mechanisms.

Beside being the world's most-cited scientist, he has also been recognised, in the years 2006 and 2007, as having published the greatest number of ‘Hot Papers’ (11 papers) over the preceding two years. He is the recipient of several international awards, including the 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...

, Robert Koch Prize, the Milstein Award, and the William B. Coley Award

William B. Coley Award

The William B. Coley Award for Distinguished Research in Basic and Tumor Immunology is presented annually by the Cancer Research Institute, Inc., to scientists who have made outstanding achievements in the fields of basic and tumor immunology and whose work has deepened our understanding of the...

.

Among his greatest discoveries is the demonstration, through the ablation of toll-like receptor

Toll-like receptor

Toll-like receptors are a class of proteins that play a key role in the innate immune system. They are single, membrane-spanning, non-catalytic receptors that recognize structurally conserved molecules derived from microbes...

 (TLR)s genes, that TLRs recognize a descrete collection of molecules of microbal origin, and later the RNA

RNA

Ribonucleic acid , or RNA, is one of the three major macromolecules that are essential for all known forms of life....

 helicase

Helicase

Helicases are a class of enzymes vital to all living organisms. They are motor proteins that move directionally along a nucleic acid phosphodiester backbone, separating two annealed nucleic acid strands using energy derived from ATP hydrolysis.-Function:Many cellular processes Helicases are a...

s, RIG-I (retinoic-acid-inducible protein I) and MDA5 (melanoma differentiation-associated protein 5). All molecules belong to the pattern recognition receptors, which detects intruding pathogens and initiates antimicrobial responses in the host.