MUSC will recognize distinguished scientist with honorary degree

MUSC will recognize distinguished scientist with honorary degree

The Medical University of South Carolina will present Yoshito Kaziro, MD, PhD with an honorary degree in May this year to recognize his lifetme accomplishments as a mentor and scholar. Throughout his long, distinguished career, Dr. Kaziro has influenced the conceptual development of different fields of science, mentored hundreds of scientists from around the world who have assumed leadership positions in academia and industry, provided leadership in multiple capacities, interfaced with academia and pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, and exhibited a sense of graciousness and commitment to excellence that have inspired those around him.

Dr. Kaziro made two fundamental scientific contributions that have had broad impact. The first involved his work in the area of metabolism and the mechanism of CO2 fixation published in a series of papers in the Journal of Biological Chemistry. Following this body of work in basic metabolism, his major research interests concerned the mechanism of protein biosynthesis and signal transduction. His second major contribution involved the role of guanine nucleotides in the control of biological events.

Dr. Kaziro elucidated the role of guanine nucleotides (guanosine triphosphate or GTP and guanosine diphosphate or GDP) in protein biosynthesis. He proposed the concept of GTP/GDP-dependent conformational change as the general mechanism for the function of GTP-binding proteins. Based upon the influence of GTP or GDP on protein translation in prokaryotes and eukaryotes, in 1969 he proposed the concept of a “G-factor” that oscillated between and active and inactive states to control protein synthesis. This was the first demonstration of G-protein. We now know that this elegant, efficient mechanism of signal transfer allows cells to respond to a variety of extracellular stimuli that influence multiple aspects of cell function.

BIOGRAPHY

Yoshito Kaziro received his MD in 1954 and PhD in 1959 from the University of Tokyo. An International Postdoctoral Fellowship from the US Public Health Service brought him to the States to work in the Department of Biochemistry at New York University Medical Center with the late Professor Severo Ochoa during 1959-63.

After returning to Japan, Dr. Kaziro became Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo. He retired from the University of Tokyo in 1990 and relocated to the US to continue his research at DNAX Research Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology in Palo Alto, CA, also serving as Consulting Professor of Biochemistry at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

Dr. Kaziro returned to Japan in 1993 to open a new laboratory at the Faculty of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Tokyo Institute of Technology. In 2000, he retired from the Tokyo Institute of Technology and went to Sanyo Gakuen University and College as a Professor. In April 2003, he was appointed as Professor at Kyoto University and Director of the newly created Horizontal Medical Research Organization, which serves as an interdisciplinary research unit for mid-career faculty development.

In addition, Dr. Kaziro served as President of the Japanese Biochemical Society 1984-85 and as a member of the Editorial Board of several international journals, including the Journal of Biological Chemistry, Biochemistry, Biochimie, Biochimica Biophysica Acta, and Journal of Biochemistry (Tokyo). He served as a Council Member of the Federation of Asian and Oceanian Biochemists (FAOB) from 1980 to 1988, and as a delegate of Japan to the International Union of Biochemistry from 1979 to 1992. He received the Japan Academy Prize in 1999 and the Purple Ribbon Medal in 1995. Dr. Kaziro was elected as a Foreign Associate of the United States National Academy of Science in 2000.