2017.01.11

Hiroshi Tomita has been appointed as our fellow. Dr. Tomita is a Doctor of Philosophy in optic neuroscience and is the world’s leading figure in gene therapy-based visual regeneration. His appointment aims at boosting our activities in regenerative medicine.

 

From 2015, our Group and Dr. Tomita have collaboratively researched and developed regenerative medicine with software-based direct control of photoreceptor cells designed for helping blind people regain the sight of light, namely regenerating the sight of blind people so that they can see other persons’ faces and read and write characters. After Dr. Tomita has been appointed as our fellow, the collaborative research and development of the software-based control of photoreceptor cells will be facilitated more than ever as we extensively push forward with efforts such as regenerating eyesight at a higher level, the application of signal control technologies in iPS and software (AI)-based drug discoveries.

 

Dr. Hiroshi Tomita, Doctor of Philosophy

[Profile]

Dr. Tomita is involved in the world’s first practice of gene therapy-based eyesight regeneration performed in the United States and is the world’s leading figure in this area.

He researches the reconstruction of visual functions (regeneration of eyesight) in blind persons, artificial retinas and gene therapy involving intraocular implantation of an LSI chip and the complicated role of a system for processing visual information.

 

Professor at the Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Iwate University

Visiting researcher at the Adaptive Intelligence Team of RIKEN, Japan

Visiting professor at Tohoku University Hospital

 

[Career]

1992:        Completes master’s course at the Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto Prefectural University

Enters Santen Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. and is assigned to Central Laboratory

1998:        Assistant professor in the Department of Ophthalmology at Tohoku University School of Medicine

2002:        Overseas dispatched researcher, Japan Foundation for Aging and Health

Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Oklahoma Dean McGee Eye Institute

2004:        Assistant professor at Tohoku University Biomedical Engineering Research Organization

Leader of the Retinal Prosthesis Research Team in Division of Biofunctional Science

2008:        Associate professor at the International Advanced Research and Education Organization of Tohoku University

2012:        Professor at Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Iwate University (currently)

Visiting researcher at Adaptive Intelligence Team of RIKEN, Japan (currently)

Visiting professor at Tohoku University Hospital (currently)

2017:        Appointed as our fellow

[Awards received]

– Travel Grant Award, NIH supported travel grant (U.S.), Retinal degeneration symposium, Bürgenstock, Switzerland (2002)

– Best Scientific Poster Award, Asia-Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology—(2009)

– Commendation for Science by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (research on gene therapy for restoring eyesight in blind persons, 2015)