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Tasuku Honjo

Tasuku Honjo

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Immunology
Japan
2026
Award Badge
Medicine
Japan
2026

D-Index & Metrics

Immunology

D-Index
161
Citations
128949
World Ranking
73
National Ranking
6

Molecular Biology

D-Index
161
Citations
127027
World Ranking
61
National Ranking
3

Medicine

D-Index
162
Citations
129678
World Ranking
697
National Ranking
9

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2026 - Research.com Immunology in Japan Leader Award
  • 2026 - Research.com Medicine in Japan Leader Award
  • 2026 - Research.com Molecular Biology in Japan Leader Award
  • 2025 - Research.com Medicine in Japan Leader Award
  • 2025 - Research.com Molecular Biology in Japan Leader Award
  • 2024 - Research.com Genetics and Molecular Biology in Japan Leader Award
  • 2023 - Research.com Genetics and Molecular Biology in Japan Leader Award
  • 2023 - Research.com Molecular Biology in Japan Leader Award
  • 2022 - Research.com Genetics and Molecular Biology in Japan Leader Award
  • 2019 - Distinguished Fellows of the American Association of Immunologists (AAI)
  • 2018 - Nobel Prize for their discovery of cancer therapy by inhibition of negative immune regulation
  • 2017 - Warren Alpert Foundation Prize For their collective contributions to the pre-clinical foundation and development of immune checkpoint blockade, a novel form of cancer therapy that has transformed the landscape of cancer treatment.
  • 2016 - Kyoto Prize in Life sciences Discovery of the Mechanism Responsible for the Functional Diversification of Antibodies, Immunoregulatory Molecules and Clinical Applications of PD-1
  • 2016 - Keio Medical Science Prize, Keio University, Tokyo, Japan
  • 2012 - Robert Koch Prize
  • 2003 - German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina - Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina – Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften Microbiology and Immunology
  • 2001 - Member of the National Academy of Sciences

Overview

Tasuku Honjo is affiliated with Kyoto University in Japan and has made significant contributions in the fields of Immunology and Microbiology, Medicine, and Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology. Their work spans several subfields including Immunology, Oncology, Molecular Biology, Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging, and Microbiology.

Their main research topics focus on Immune Cell Function and Interaction, Cancer Immunotherapy and Biomarkers, T-cell and B-cell Immunology, Immunotherapy and Immune Responses, CAR-T cell therapy research, Monoclonal and Polyclonal Antibodies Research, and RNA Research and Splicing.

Frequent co-authors include:

  • Kenji Chamoto
  • Nasim A. Begum
  • Masaki Tajima
  • Akio Ohta
  • Maki Kobayashi

Their research has been published in various prominent venues, with multiple contributions in:

  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
  • Frontiers in Immunology
  • The Journal of Immunology
  • The EMBO Journal
  • Science Translational Medicine

Significant recent papers include:

  • "Insights from a 30-year journey: function, regulation and therapeutic modulation of PD1", 2023, Nature Reviews. Immunology
  • "Spermidine activates mitochondrial trifunctional protein and improves antitumor immunity in mice", 2022, Science
  • "B cell-derived GABA elicits IL-10+ macrophages to limit anti-tumour immunity", 2021, Nature
  • "Inherited PD-1 deficiency underlies tuberculosis and autoimmunity in a child", 2021, Nature Medicine
  • "Current issues and perspectives in PD-1 blockade cancer immunotherapy", 2020, International Journal of Clinical Oncology

Tasuku Honjo has received multiple awards, such as:

  • Nobel Prize (2018) for the discovery of cancer therapy by inhibition of negative immune regulation
  • Warren Alpert Foundation Prize (2017) for contributions to the pre-clinical foundation and development of immune checkpoint blockade
  • Keio Medical Science Prize, Keio University, Tokyo, Japan (2016)
  • Kyoto Prize in Life Sciences (2016) for discoveries related to antibody diversification and PD-1 clinical applications
  • Robert Koch Prize (2012)
  • Distinguished Fellow of the American Association of Immunologists (2019)
  • Member of the National Academy of Sciences (2001)
  • German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (2003) in Microbiology and Immunology

Best Publications

  • Engagement of the PD-1 immunoinhibitory receptor by a novel B7 family member leads to negative regulation of lymphocyte activation.

    Gordon J. Freeman;Andrew J. Long;Yoshiko Iwai;Karen Bourque

  • Class Switch Recombination and Hypermutation Require Activation-Induced Cytidine Deaminase (AID), a Potential RNA Editing Enzyme

    Masamichi Muramatsu;Kazuo Kinoshita;Sidonia Fagarasan;Shuichi Yamada

  • Induced expression of PD-1, a novel member of the immunoglobulin gene superfamily, upon programmed cell death.

    Yasumasa Ishida;Yasutoshi Agata;Keiichi Shibahara;Tasuku Honjo

  • Development of lupus-like autoimmune diseases by disruption of the PD-1 gene encoding an ITIM motif-carrying immunoreceptor.

    Hiroyuki Nishimura;Masato Nose;Hiroshi Hiai;Nagahiro Minato

  • Involvement of PD-L1 on tumor cells in the escape from host immune system and tumor immunotherapy by PD-L1 blockade

    Yoshiko Iwai;Masayoshi Ishida;Yoshimasa Tanaka;Taku Okazaki

  • PD-L2 is a second ligand for PD-1 and inhibits T cell activation

    Yvette Latchman;Clive R. Wood;Tatyana Chernova;Divya Chaudhary

  • Expression of the PD-1 antigen on the surface of stimulated mouse T and B lymphocytes

    Yasutoshi Agata;Akemi Kawasaki;Hiroyuki Nishimura;Yasumasa Ishida

  • Autoimmune Dilated Cardiomyopathy in PD-1 Receptor-Deficient Mice

    Hiroyuki Nishimura;Taku Okazaki;Yoshimasa Tanaka;Kazuki Nakatani

  • Activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) deficiency causes the autosomal recessive form of the Hyper-IgM syndrome (HIGM2).

    Patrick Revy;Taro Muto;Yves Levy;Frédéric Geissmann

  • Programmed cell death 1 ligand 1 and tumor-infiltrating CD8+ T lymphocytes are prognostic factors of human ovarian cancer.

    Junzo Hamanishi;Masaki Mandai;Masashi Iwasaki;Taku Okazaki

  • PD-1 and PD-1 ligands: from discovery to clinical application.

    Taku Okazaki;Tasuku Honjo

  • Specific expression of activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID), a novel member of the RNA-editing deaminase family in germinal center B cells.

    Masamichi Muramatsu;V.S. Sankaranand;Shrikant Anant;Manabu Sugai

  • Notch signalling controls pancreatic cell differentiation

    Åsa Apelqvist;Hao Li;Lukas Sommer;Paul Beatus

  • Safety and Antitumor Activity of Anti–PD-1 Antibody, Nivolumab, in Patients With Platinum-Resistant Ovarian Cancer

    Junzo Hamanishi;Masaki Mandai;Takafumi Ikeda;Manabu Minami

  • Instruction of Distinct CD4 T Helper Cell Fates by Different Notch Ligands on Antigen-Presenting Cells

    Derk Amsen;J.Magarian Blander;Gap Ryol Lee;Kenji Tanigaki

  • Generation of lymphohematopoietic cells from embryonic stem cells in culture

    Toru Nakano;Hiroaki Kodama;Tasuku Honjo

  • PD-1 immunoreceptor inhibits B cell receptor-mediated signaling by recruiting src homology 2-domain-containing tyrosine phosphatase 2 to phosphotyrosine

    Taku Okazaki;Akito Maeda;Hiroyuki Nishimura;Tomohiro Kurosaki

  • A rheostat for immune responses: the unique properties of PD-1 and their advantages for clinical application.

    Taku Okazaki;Shunsuke Chikuma;Yoshiko Iwai;Sidonia Fagarasan

  • PD-L1/B7H-1 Inhibits the Effector Phase of Tumor Rejection by T Cell Receptor (TCR) Transgenic CD8+ T Cells

    Christian Blank;Ian Elliott Brown;Amy C. Peterson;Mike Spiotto

  • PD-1:PD-L inhibitory pathway affects both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells and is overcome by IL-2

    Laura L. Carter;Lynette A. Fouser;Jason Jussif;Lori Fitz

  • Signal sequence trap: a cloning strategy for secreted proteins and type I membrane proteins.

    Kei Tashiro;Hideaki Tada;Ralf Heilker;Michio Shirozu

Frequent Co-Authors

Kei Tashiro
Kei Tashiro Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine
Masamichi Muramatsu
Masamichi Muramatsu National Institutes of Health
Taku Okazaki
Taku Okazaki University of Tokushima
Akira Shimizu
Akira Shimizu Kyoto University
Nagahiro Minato
Nagahiro Minato Kyoto University
Fumihiko Matsuda
Fumihiko Matsuda Kyoto University
Tatsuo Kinashi
Tatsuo Kinashi Kansai Medical University
Toru Nakano
Toru Nakano Osaka University
Koichi Ikuta
Koichi Ikuta Kyoto University

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