Updated on 8 November 2012
According to recent news reports, scientists at Japan's Riken Center for Development Biology in Kobe are already planning to use the pioneering technology in a clinical trial among patients with macular degeneration, a disease in which the retina becomes damaged, resulting in loss of vision. This would be the first time that iPS cells will be used for the purpose instead of embryonic cells.
A push for regenerative medicine
His quest to bring therapeutic benefits to the patients is on. "Winning the prize would be not only a tremendous honor for me, but also a powerful encouragement for myself, my colleagues, and all the scientists working with iPS cells to continue research activities," he said, reacting to the announcement by the Nobel Prize Committee. "I will work harder with my colleagues to develop effective drugs and new therapy for intractable diseases using patient-derived iPS cells."
His message on the CiRA website also reflects the energy and enthusiasm he brings to the field. To quote his own words from the message: "In the current fiscal year, we are concentrating on our second goal, the generation of iPS cells for use in regenerative medicine. To this end, I myself was appointed in April to the position of director of the Facility for iPS Cell Therapy (FiT), a cell processing center. The task of FiT is to prepare clinical-grade iPS cells that meet the criteria laid down by the Japanese government and to evaluate first whether they are suitable for use in transplantation. When their safety has been confirmed, cells will be passed for actual use in clinical research. Working together with the iPS Cell Therapy Promotion Office, which we set up in February, and with other researchers, we aim to generate iPS cells for use in regenerative medicine."
Even as the world is in awe of his achievements, there is more to him that meets the eye. Dr Yamanaka, who played rugby and practiced judo as a university student, now runs marathons to support the cause of iPS cell research. He also has a well-populated Wikipedia page. He participated in the inaugural Osaka marathon as a charity runner and completed the run in 4:29:53. He also took part in the Tokyo marathon this year and is scheduled to run in the second Osaka marathon in November this year.