Hideyuki Okano, Japan

Hideyuki Okano received his M.D. (1983) and Ph.D. of Medical Science (1988) from Keio University. After a postdoctoral fellowship at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, he became a Professor at Tsukuba University (1994), Osaka University (1997), and returned to Keio University in 2001. He served as Dean of Keio University School of Medicine/Graduate School of Medicine (2007-2021) and was appointed Visiting Professor at MIT in 2022. He is currently the Director and Distinguished Professor of Keio University Regenerative Medicine Research Center. He was awarded numerous honors, including the Medal with Purple Ribbon (2009), the Erwin von Bälz Prize (2014), and the Uehara Prize (2022). In July 2025, he assumed the presidency of the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR). His current research focuses on stem cell therapies for spinal cord injuries, as well as iPSCs-based modeling and drug development for neurodegenerative diseases such as ALS and Alzheimer’s disease.