Moriya Tsuji

Moriya Tsuji (born January 1, 1958) is an American Immunologist and Vaccinologist. , he serves as the Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, and at Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center.

Early life and education
Tsuji was born on January 1, 1958 in Tokyo, Japan. During his childhood, Tsuji spent a year at the Ecole Primaire d'Application Michelet in Lille, France, where his father, Moriyasu Tsuji, worked as a visiting scientist in the laboratory of André Capron at Pasteur Institute, Lille between 1966 and 1967.

He ranked at the top of his class after the completion of his one-year tenure in that school. After returning to Japan, Tsuji spent his junior and high school days in Hiroshima, Japan.

In 1983, Tsuji earned his Doctor of Medicine at the Jikei University School of Medicine in Tokyo. Four years later, he was awarded his Doctor of Philosophy from the Department of Immunology at the University of Tokyo, in 1987 under the mentorship of Professor Tomio Tada.

Tsuji moved to New York City in 1987 and later became a citizen of the United States.

Career
Immediately after obtaining a Doctor of Philosophy in Japan, Tsuji joined the Department of Medical and Molecular Parasitology, headed by Ruth Sonntag Nussenzweig, at New York University School of Medicine in 1987. He was appointed to an Assistant Professor at the Department of Medical and Molecular Parasitology at NYU School of Medicine in 1991.

In 1998, Tsuji was awarded a tenure with an Associate Professorship in the same department. After taking a sabbatical at the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, headed by David Ho from 2002 to 2003, Tsuji joined the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center as an Associate Professor and Staff Investigator. Tsuji was promoted to Aaron Diamond Professor at Rockefeller University in 2012.

In 2020, Tsuji moved to Columbia University and became a Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, as well as in the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. Tsuji has been a Visiting Professor at Chiba University in Chiba (city), Japan, and the Jikei University School of Medicine in Tokyo, Japan.

As a teacher
Tsuji began his teaching career in 1992. His first assignment was for medical students at the New York University School of Medicine in a Parasitology course. He has also served as a lecturer on Immunology for undergraduate and graduate students at New York University School of Medicine.

In 1997, he served at the Federal University of São Paulo in São Paulo, Brazil, as a lecturer on Immunology for graduate students. Between 1998 and 2000, Tsuji served as a lecturer on Immunology for graduate students and scientists at the University of Bamako in Bamako, Mali. [citation needed]

Research
Tsuji's major research interests have been; 1) development of a glycolipid-based adjuvant for vaccines against infectious diseases and cancers, 2) Exploration of natural Killer T-cell-mediated protection against infectious diseases and cancers, and 3) Generation of "humanized mice" model mounting human immune system (HIS).

Scientific achievements
Tsuji has published over 150 peer review papers in notable journals. As a postdoctoral fellow at NYU School of Medicine, Tsuji broke new ground in uncovering the protective role of CD4+ T cells and gamma-delta T cells, against the liver stage of rodent malaria. The discovery of the role of gamma-delta T cells in anti-malaria immunity was achieved in collaboration with Susumu Tonegawa's laboratory at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Soon afterwards, Tsuji expanded his research to the field of malaria vaccine development, particularly, the development of viral vector-based malaria vaccines that can elicit a potent protective CD8+ T-cell response. He responsible for identifying for the first time adenovirus as an excellent vector for inducing CD8+ T cell-mediated immunity.

Tsuji identified a CD1d-binding natural killer T (NKT)-cell stimulatory glycolipid, 7DW8-5, as a superb adjuvant capable of enhancing CD8+ T cell response induced by various vaccines [4-7]  7DW8-5 glycolipid has also been shown to prevent respiratory virus infections upon intranasal administration in mice.

Tsuji's team successfully isolated CD4+ T-cell clones which recognize the carbohydrate and have named such carbohydrate-specific CD4+ T cells, "Tcarb". This was done in collaboration with Dennis Kasper's group at Harvard University. His discovery of Tcarb has not only impacted on the current paradigm of basic T cell biology, but has also led to radical advancements in glycoconjugate-based vaccine development.

Tsuji's team has also succeeded in establishing a humanized mouse model that mimics human immune system (HIS), called HIS mice. These HIS mice are able to possess functional human CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, NKT cells and dendritic cells, and can mount cell-mediated immunity upon immunization with various vaccines that include a malaria vaccine.

Awards and recognition
Tsuji was awarded a New York University Whitehead Presidential Award for Junior Faculty and American Cancer Society Institutional Award in 1993.

Tsuji was also awarded American Lung Association of New York State Research Award and Mizutani Foundation for Glycoscience Award in 1996 and 2004, respectively.

In 2021, Tsuji has been elected to the Fellow of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (FASTMH).

His work was recognized, as "A Special Themed Issue Dedicated to Professor Moriya Tsuji" in Innovative Immunology was edited in Biomolecules (journal) in 2003.