Draft:Masahide Takahashi

Biography
Masahide Takahashi is Professor Emeritus of Nagoya University, and Director and Designated Professor of International Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Fujita Health University in Japan. His pioneering work is the discovery of the RET proto-oncogene encoding a receptor tyrosine kinase Alterations of the RET proto-oncogene are responsible for various human cancers and developmental disorders, including thyroid cancer, non-small-cell lung cancer, multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 (hereditary cancer syndrome), and Hirschsprung’s disease (developmental disorder of the enteric nervous system)

Education
Masahide Takahashi was born in Japan, in 1954 and graduated from Nagoya University School of Medicine in 1979. He majored in Pathology at Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine and received his PhD degree in 1983. ..

Carrier and research
Takahashi studied as a research fellow at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School in Boston between 1983 and 1985. After returning to Japan, he worked as a researcher at Aichi Cancer Center Research Institute in Nagoya between 1985 and1990, and moved to Nagoya University as an Assistant Professor. He became Professor of Pathology at Nagoya University in 1996. He was appointed as Dean of Nagoya University School of Medicine between 2012 and 2017, and Trustee and Vice President of Nagoya University between 2017 and 2020. He became Director and Professor of the International Center for Cell and Gene Therapy at Fujita Health University in 2020. His research group has elucidated the molecular mechanisms of disease development caused by alteration of the RET proto-oncogene. In collaboration with Dr Arnon Rosenthal’s group, they found that glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (DNF) is a ligand for RET receptor . The group has studied physiological roles of GDNF/RET signaling in the development of the enteric nervous system and kidney as well as spermatogenesis . In the process of the study of GDNF/RET signaling, Takahashi discovered a new actin-binding protein, named Girdin, which plays pivotal roles in cell motility including cancer cell invasion and metastasis, and neuronal migration

Awards and honors

 * 1990: Young Investigator Award of the Japanese Cancer Association
 * 1993: Academic Research Award of the Japanese Society of Pathology
 * 2001: The Japan Pathology Award.
 * 2006: Yomiuri-Tokai Medical Award (the Yomiuri Shinbun Co.)
 * 2010: The Chunichi Cultural Award (the Chunichi Shinbun Co.)
 * 2019: Medical Award of The Japan Medical Association
 * 2020: Princess Takamatsu Cancer Research Fund Prize
 * 2020: Medal with Purple Ribbon from the Government of Japan