Shinya Yamanaka (山中 伸弥, Yamanaka Shin'ya) was born on September 4, 1962. He is a Japanese scientist who studies stem cells and has won a Nobel Prize. He is a professor and former director of the Center for iPS Cell Research and Application at Kyoto University. He also works as a researcher at the Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco, California, and teaches anatomy at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Yamanaka was once the president of the International Society for Stem Cell Research.

In 2010, he won the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in the biomedicine category. In 2011, he shared the Wolf Prize in Medicine with Rudolf Jaenisch. In 2012, he and Linus Torvalds won the Millennium Technology Prize. That same year, Yamanaka and John Gurdon were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for discovering that mature cells can be changed into stem cells. In 2013, he received the $3 million Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences for his research.

Education

Yamanaka was born in Higashiōsaka, Japan, in 1962. After finishing high school at Tennōji High School, which is affiliated with Osaka Kyoiku University, he earned his M.D. degree from Kobe University in 1987 and his Ph.D. degree from Osaka City University’s Graduate School of Medicine in 1993. Following this, he completed training in orthopedic surgery at National Osaka Hospital and postdoctoral training at the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease in San Francisco.

Later, he worked at the Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco, United States, and at the Nara Institute of Science and Technology in Japan. Yamanaka is now a professor and the director emeritus of the Center for iPS Research and Application (CiRA) at Kyoto University. He also holds the position of senior investigator at the Gladstone Institutes.

Professional career

Between 1987 and 1989, Yamanaka worked as a trainee in orthopedic surgery at the National Osaka Hospital. His first task was to remove a non-cancerous tumor from his friend Shuichi Hirata. However, he could not finish the operation in one hour, a time that a more experienced surgeon would have taken about ten minutes. Some senior doctors called him "Jamanaka," a play on the Japanese word for obstacle.

From 1993 to 1996, he worked at the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease. Between 1996 and 1999, he was an assistant professor at Osaka City University Medical School, but spent much of his time caring for laboratory mice rather than conducting research.

His wife encouraged him to become a practicing doctor. Instead, he applied for a job at the Nara Institute of Science and Technology. He said he could explain the traits of embryonic stem cells, and this determination helped him get the position. From 1999 to 2003, he was an associate professor there and began research that later earned him the 2012 Nobel Prize. He became a full professor and held that role from 2003 to 2005. Between 2004 and 2010, Yamanaka was a professor at the Institute for Frontier Medical Sciences, Kyoto University. From 2010 to 2022, he was the director and a professor at the Center for iPS Cell Research and Application (CiRA), Kyoto University. In April 2022, he stepped down as director but continued as a professor in the position of director emeritus.

In 2006, Yamanaka and his team created induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) from adult mouse cells. These iPS cells are very similar to embryonic stem cells, which are the cells in the early stage of an embryo that develop into all parts of the body. His team proved that these iPS cells were pluripotent, meaning they could become any type of cell in the body. Later, they created iPS cells from human adult cells, being the first group to do so. A major difference from earlier experiments was their use of several transcription factors, rather than one per experiment. They started with 24 transcription factors important in early embryos but eventually found that only four—Sox2, Oct4, Klf4, and c-Myc—were needed.

Yamanaka's Nobel Prize–winning research in iPS cells

The 2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Sir John B. Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka for showing that mature cells can be reprogrammed to become pluripotent.

Stem cells are a type of cell that can develop into many different cell types.

In the early 20th century, scientists believed that mature cells could not return to a pluripotent state. They thought that once cells became specialized, they could not change back. However, adult stem cells in places like bone marrow and skin can replace damaged cells.

Scientists noticed that specialized cells had unique patterns of proteins, which suggested that changes in gene activity made specialization permanent. Over time, cells became less able to change into other types and lost their pluripotency.

In 1962, John B. Gurdon proved that the nucleus of a mature frog cell could create a fully functional tadpole when placed in an egg cell. This showed that mature cells could be reprogrammed to become pluripotent. This discovery changed scientific understanding of cell specialization.

Scientists then wondered if entire mature cells could be reprogrammed to become pluripotent.

Shinya Yamanaka discovered that adding a small group of specific proteins called transcription factors to mature cells could make them pluripotent. These factors are important for keeping embryonic stem cells pluripotent. Yamanaka tested 24 possible factors and found that four—Myc, Oct3/4, Sox2, and Klf4—could reprogram skin cells into pluripotent stem cells. These cells are called iPS (induced pluripotent stem) cells.

To identify iPS cells, scientists used a method involving a gene called b-geo. This gene helps scientists spot iPS cells in laboratory cultures.

In 2007, Yamanaka and his team created iPS cells that could pass genetic material to offspring and made the first human iPS cells.

Current methods for creating iPS cells face challenges, such as the low number of iPS cells produced and the risk that some factors may cause cancer.

In 2014, Yamanaka was questioned about missing documentation in his research after a scandal involving another scientist. Yamanaka denied wrongdoing but could not confirm the accuracy of his data.

Since Yamanaka’s discovery, scientists have improved methods for creating iPS cells. For example:
1. Scientists now use safer ways to deliver pluripotency factors, such as non-integrating viruses or proteins.
2. Researchers have identified factors needed to reprogram different cell types, like neural stem cells.
3. Small molecules have been found that can replace some transcription factors.
4. Scientists have tested changing cell types without going through a pluripotent state, such as turning skin cells into nerve cells.
5. iPS cells may help treat diseases by replacing damaged cells, though safety concerns remain.
6. iPS cells are used to study diseases like ALS, Alzheimer’s, and heart conditions.
7. iPS cells help test new medicines for conditions like diabetes and heart disease.

Yamanaka’s work has created new possibilities for understanding and using stem cells.

In 2013, scientists used iPS cells to grow a functional human liver in mice. The liver worked like a normal liver, breaking down drugs and producing secretions.

In 2022, Yamanaka’s factors were shown to reduce signs of aging in older mice.

Recognition

In 2007, Yamanaka was named a "Person Who Mattered" in the Time Person of the Year edition of Time magazine. Yamanaka was also nominated as a 2008 Time 100 Finalist. In June 2010, Yamanaka received the Kyoto Prize for changing adult skin cells into cells that can develop into many different cell types. Yamanaka created this method as an alternative to using embryonic stem cells, which would require destroying embryos.

In May 2010, Yamanaka was awarded a "Doctor of Science (honorary)" degree by Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

In September 2010, he was given the Balzan Prize for his work in biology and stem cells.

Yamanaka was listed as one of the 15 Asian Scientists To Watch by Asian Scientist magazine on May 15, 2011. In June 2011, he received the inaugural McEwen Award for Innovation. He shared the $100,000 prize with Kazutoshi Takahashi, who was the lead author of the research paper describing the creation of induced pluripotent stem cells.

In June 2012, Yamanaka was awarded the Millennium Technology Prize for his work in stem cells. He shared the 1.2 million euro prize with Linus Torvalds, the creator of the Linux kernel. In October 2012, Yamanaka and John Gurdon, another stem cell researcher, were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering that mature cells can be reprogrammed to become pluripotent.

Interest in sports

Yamanaka studied judo and earned a 2nd Dan black belt. He also played rugby while in college. He has a history of running marathons. After 20 years, he ran in the first Osaka Marathon in 2011 as a charity runner, finishing with a time of 4:29:53. Since 2012, he has participated in the Kyoto Marathon to help raise money for iPS research. His fastest marathon time is 3:25:20, set at the 2018 Beppu-Ōita Marathon.