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February 10, 2023

The Fifth CiRA Encouragement Award

On January 23, Drs. Antonio Lucena-Cacace (Specially-Appointed Associate Professor, Yoshinori Yoshida lab) and Norihide Jo (Program-Specific Assistant Professor, Yoko Hamazaki lab) were presented with the 5th annual CiRA Encouragement Award. This award recognizes CiRA scientists under 40 years old who have made remarkable research achievements in biomedical sciences and is financed by the iPS Cell Research Fund.

Dr. Lucena-Cacace has shown outstanding commitment to his research aimed at generating multi-cellular human heart organoids from iPS cells and establishing an in vitro platform to identify and test new drugs to treat cardiac fibrosis, a crucial aggravating factor of deteriorating cardiac functions. His research to produce heart organoids composed of cardiac myocytes and non-cardiomyocytes will be essential to developing novel in vitro systems for disease modeling, drug screening and safety evaluation. For his dedication to this work, he was honored with this award.
(For details of his research, please refer to the following article: Immunosuppressive regimens after a heart transplant can hamper good therapeutic progressions in fibrosis)

Dr. Jo has established a new experimental system for detecting SARS-CoV2 reactive T cells in human peripheral blood; and identified quantitative and qualitative changes in SARS-CoV2 reactive T cells associated with aging, as well as age-related differences in the T cell response induced by coronavirus vaccination. These are all fine examples of fundamental research that will help to pave the way towards a reality in which regenerative medicine and, by extension, iPS cell-based therapies will become a vital part of routine healthcare. He was recognized with this award for his exceptional research achievements.
(For details of his research, please refer to the following article: T-Cell Responses in the Elderly Rise Slowly and Contract Quickly ~Learning About Individual and Age Differences in Immune Response From COVID-19 Vaccinations~)

During the award ceremony held at the CiRA auditorium and Zoom, CiRA Director Jun Takahashi praised Lucena-Cacace and Jo for their work, saying: "I am delighted to honor these promising early-career researchers with this award." He presented a certificate of recognition, a trophy, and a monetary prize to the award recipients.

(From left) Norihide Jo, Jun Takahashi and Antonio Lucena-Cacace
at the CiRA Encouragement Award ceremony

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