Founder and Scientific Advisor
Kunio Matsumoto, Ph.D.
Specially Appointed Professor of WPI-Nano Life Science Institute, Kanazawa University
Profile
Professor Kunio Matsumoto, together with the late Emeritus Professor Toshikazu Nakamura of Osaka University, conducted research projects on the structure and functions of HGF（hepatocyte growth factor) and physiological roles of HGF including neuronal survival. With a desire to contribute to people suffering from diseases, he started Kringle Pharma in December 2001. He became a professor at the Cancer Research Institute of Kanazawa University in 2007. His team has been at the forefront of HGF-related research in the world, including the successful creation of a chemically synthesizable HGF mimetic and a novel HGF-related molecules with the long-term blood stability and the ability to cross the blood-brain barrier. He concurrently holds Vice President of Kanazawa University, Specially Appointed Professor of the WPI-Nano Life Science Institute of Kanazawa University, and President of Vision Incubate Co., Ltd.
Biography
1981
Graduated from the Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Kanazawa University
1986
Graduated from the Department of Biochemistry, Graduate School of Science, Osaka University (Ph.D.)
1986
Assistant Professor, Department of Dermatology, School of Medicine, Osaka University
1990
Assistant Professor, Faculty of Science, Kyushu University
1993
Assistant Professor, School of Medicine, Osaka University
1996
Associate Professor, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University
1998
Visiting Associate Professor, Brown University (until 1999)
2007
Professor, Cancer Research Institute, Kanazawa University
2017
Professor, Nano Life Science Institute, Kanazawa University
2021
Director, Cancer Research Institute, Kanazawa University
2022
Vice President, Kanazawa University (in charge of Industry-Academia Collaboration and Research) (current position)
Specially Appointed Professor, WPI-Nano Life Science Institute, Kanazawa University (current position)
Scientific Advisor
Hideyuki Okano, M.D., Ph.D.
Distinguished Professor of Keio University
Profile
Professor Hideyuki Okano has long been a world leader in research on the development and regeneration of the central nervous system, and is a world-renowned researcher in the fields of molecular neurobiology, developmental biology, and regenerative medicine. Recently, Professor Okano, together with Professor Masaya Nakamura of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Keio University School of Medicine, has been vigorously promoting regenerative medical research on spinal cord injury using iPS cells, while also focusing on drug discovery research using iPS cells for intractable neurological diseases such as ALS. We are receiving valuable advice from Professor Okano regarding research and development for spinal cord injury and other neurological intractable diseases, aiming for the earliest possible social implementation of HGF protein drug.
Biography
1983
Graduated from Keio University School of Medicine, received M.D. in Physiology
1983
Assistant Professor, Department of Physiology, Keio University School of Medicine
1985
Assistant Professor, Institute for Protein Research, Osaka University
1988
Obtained Ph.D. in Medical Science from Keio University
1989
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Department of Biological Chemistry, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
1992
Assistant Professor, Department of Molecular Neurobiology, The Institute of Medical Sciences, The University of Tokyo
1994
Professor, Department of Molecular Neurobiology, Institute of Basic Medical Science, University of Tsukuba
1997
Professor, Division of Neuroanatomy, Department of Neuroscience, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine
2001
Professor, Department of Physiology, Keio University School of Medicine (until 2024)
2007
Dean, Graduate School of Medicine, Keio University (until 2015)
2015
Dean, School of Medicine, Keio University (until 2017)
2017
Visiting Professor, Peking University Health Science Center
2017
Dean, Graduate School of Medicine, Keio University (until 2021)
2017
Specially Invited Professor, Ochanomizu University
2022
Visiting Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2024
Distinguished Professor of Keio University, Director of Keio Regenerative Medicine Research Center (current position)
Scientific Advisor
Masaya Nakamura, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor of Keio University School of Medicine
Profile
Professor Masaya Nakamura is a leading orthopedic surgeon in Japan in the field of spinal cord and spinal cord diseases, and a researcher who promotes the development of novel spinal cord regeneration therapies from basic research to clinical application. In particular, he and Professor Hideyuki Okano of the Department of Physiology at Keio University School of Medicine have reported many outstanding results of various innovative drug seeds and technologies for spinal cord injury, including HGF and iPS cells, and are leading the practical application of regenerative medicine of the central nervous system, which was thought to be impossible. With Professor Nakamura's valuable input, we are advancing development to bring HGF therapeutics to spinal cord injury patients worldwide as soon as possible.
Biography
1987
Graduated from Keio University School of Medicine
1998
Research fellow, Department of Neuroscience, Georgetown University
2000
Assistant professor, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Keio University School of Medicine
2004
Assistant professor, Chief of Spinal cord division, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Keio University School of Medicine
2012
Associate professor, Chief of Spinal cord division, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Keio University School of Medicine
2015
Professor & Chair, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Keio University School of Medicine (current position)
2017
Assistant Dean, Keio University School of Medicine
2021
Vice Dean, Keio University School of Medicine (current position)
