Published on June 11, 2013

Public Interest Incorporated Foundation, Zoological Society of Japan
Chairperson of the Academic Award Selection Committee
Eiji Numata

The Selection Committee for the Academic Awards and Encouragement Awards for fiscal year 2013 held a meeting to select candidates for these awards on Sunday, May 19, 2013, from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM in the Large Conference Room of Hokkaido University's Tokyo Office. All seven selection members representing the fields of endocrinology, morphology/cytology, physiology, development, biochemistry/molecular biology, ecology/behavior, and taxonomy/phylogeny/genetics/evolution (Yoshiro Takei, Kazuo Inaba, Masakazu Takahata, Hiroyuki Takeda, Yoshinori Shichida, Eiji Numata, and Masayuki Sumida) were in attendance. There were 8 applications for the Academic Award and 11 for the Encouragement Award. Based on the selection regulations for each award, the contents of the recommendation letters were deliberated in detail. Ultimately, it was unanimously decided to recommend two members for the Academic Award and two members foraje the Encouragement Award as candidates to the Board of Directors.

2013 Zoological Society of Japan Award

There were 8 applications. Although zoology consists of a wide range of academic fields, most applicants were outstanding researchers representing their respective fields, and they met the criteria stated in the selection regulations: "researchers who have achieved results that are academically extremely beneficial and make an important and remarkable contribution to the progress and development of zoology." As a result, the deliberation was conducted at a high standard. Selection was extremely difficult, but after detailed deliberation on the applicants' research content, research achievements, and degree of contribution to the progress and development of zoology, it was decided to recommend two candidates to the Board of Directors.

Winners (in Japanese syllabary order)

Yoshitaka Oka
Professor, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo
Research theme: Study on peptide neuronal systems involved in the central control of reproduction

Kenji Tomioka
Professor, Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University
Research topic: "Neurobiological studies on the circadian clock mechanism in insects"

Reasons for the Recommendation

Member Yoshitaka Okahas been conducting world-leading research using fish as a model regarding the regulatory mechanisms of reproduction by the central nervous system. In particular, with a keen interest in the mechanisms of coordination between the nervous system and the endocrine system, she has achieved outstanding results through original research on the interactions between gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons and a novel peptide-neuron system called kisspeptin in the hypothalamus, as well as the interactions with the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal endocrine system that governs vertebrate reproduction. Recently, anticipating the importance of the neural circuits formed by these two neural systems and using medaka—which offers many advantages as an experimental animal, such as genomic databases and transgenic technology—she has been conducting internationally cutting-edge research on the peptidergic neuronal systems involved in the central control of reproduction. Thus, Member Oka has been leading zoology not only in Japan but across the world at the forefront. We judged that Member Oka's research, which has greatly contributed to the development of zoology, is well deserving of the academic award, and therefore nominated her as a candidate.

Member Kenji Tomiokahas made remarkable contributions to elucidating the circadian clock mechanisms in insects by making full use of neurobiological techniques. Above all, his research demonstrating that the main circadian clock oscillator resides in the optic lobe by recording the electrical output from the cricket optic lobe under culture conditions is particularly noteworthy. Furthermore, he expanded his research to address questions such as how a pair of left and right clocks coordinate to generate rhythms. In addition, he was the first in the world to discover that different circadian clock cells divide roles to synchronize with the environment in Drosophila. Recently, he has been developing research exploring the evolutionary process of the clock from the molecular mechanisms of the circadian clock in primitive insects, as well as research elucidating the role of clock genes in photoperiodism using RNAi. Member Tomioka has not only published these achievements in top international journals but has also written numerous review articles, playing an active international role as a chronobiologist representing Japan. We determined that Member Tomioka's research, which has greatly contributed to the development of zoology, is worthy of the academic award and nominated him as a candidate.

　

2013 Zoological Society of Japan Award for Encouragement of Research

There were 11 applications. Most of the applicants met the criteria in the selection regulations for a "young researcher who conducts active research and holds strong promise for future progress and development," making the selection process of a high standard, comparable to that of the academic award. As a result of detailed deliberations on the applicants' research content, research achievements, and future potential, it was decided to recommend two candidates to the Board of Directors.

Winners (in Japanese syllabary order)

Mayako Kutsukake
National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) - Researcher
Research topic: Study on the establishment, maintenance mechanisms, and evolution of insect societies

Mitsumasa Koyanagi
Associate Professor, Graduate School of Science, Osaka City University
Research Theme: Study on the molecular basis of animal photoreception using molecular evolutionary and molecular physiological approaches

Reasons for the Recommendation

Mayako Kutsuwake, Memberhas been studying the evolution of eusocial aphids at various levels, ranging from behavior to molecules. First, he revealed that soldier aphids, a sterile caste, inject a specific protease as venom into enemies. Furthermore, he showed that when a gall is punctured by an external enemy, soldier aphids sacrificially secrete hemolymph, utilizing its coagulation function to stimulate plant tissue and promote the plant's repair function to mend the gall. These findings have been globally acclaimed for identifying the material basis of altruistic behavior. In addition, he discovered that within the enclosed gall, aphids alter the physiological state of the plant to cause it to absorb their own excrement. Member Kutsukake's research, which elucidates fascinating phenomena in natural history at the molecular level, is highly commendable, and future development as a new field is anticipated.

Member Mitsumasa Koyanagiis working on elucidating the molecular basis of photoreception in animals, represented by vision, based on molecular evolutionary biology. Member Koyanagi studied the eyes of the box jellyfish, which possess the most primitive eyes among animals with visual organs, and discovered that the photoreceptor contained within them is a novel photoreceptor that couples with a Gs-subtype G protein, a type that had never been reported before. Furthermore, through research using amphioxus, a cephalochordate closely related to vertebrates, he elucidated for the first time in the world the molecular properties of melanopsin, a photoreceptor that was attracting high international interest at the time. More recently, he astonished the world by proving—through the molecular properties of photoreceptors, their localization within the retina, and behavioral experiments—that jumping spiders possess a novel depth perception mechanism based on blurred images. Thus, each of Member Koyanagi's past studies is extremely important as zoological research, and their high potential for future development is highly evaluated.