Published on June 11, 2012

Zoological Society of Japan
Chairperson of the Academic Award Selection Committee
Takayuki Takahashi

On Friday, May 10, the Selection Committee for Academic Awards and Other Honors met in the conference room of Hokkaido University's Tokyo Office to select candidates for the 2012 Academic Awards, Encouragement Awards, and OM Award for Female Researchers. All seven selection members representing the fields of endocrinology, morphology/cytology, physiology, development, biochemistry/molecular biology, ecology/behavior, and taxonomy/phylogeny/genetics/evolution (Hiroki Nishida, Kazuyoshi Tsutsui, Kentaro Arikawa, Hidetoshi Tamate, Toshiya Matsushima, Kazuyuki Mikami, and Takayuki Takahashi) were in attendance. There were 7 applicants for the Academic Awards, 12 for the Encouragement Awards, and 7 for the OM Award. Based on the selection regulations for each award, the contents of the recommendation letters (for the Academic and Encouragement Awards) and application forms (for the OM Award) were discussed in detail. Ultimately, it was unanimously decided to recommend two members for the Academic Awards, two for the Encouragement Awards, and two for the OM Award as candidates to the Board of Directors.

2012 Zoological Society of Japan Award

There were seven applicants. Although zoology comprises a wide range of academic fields, most of the applicants were outstanding researchers representing their respective fields, and they met the selection criteria of being "researchers who have achieved results that are of great academic benefit and make an important and remarkable contribution to the progress and development of zoology." As a result, the deliberations were conducted at a high standard. The selection process was extremely difficult, but after detailed deliberations regarding 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.

Winner's Name, Affiliation, and Title

Kamiya Ritsu
Former Professor, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo
Research topic: "Study on dynein function and its regulatory mechanism in flagellar motility"

Hideharu Numata
Professor, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University
Study of environmental factors and biological clocks regulating animal life histories

Reasons for the Recommendation

Member Ritsu Kamiyahas made numerous discoveries and achieved academically significant results through outstanding research on flagellar movement, which is conserved in almost all eukaryotes. Flagella possess a well-known structural pattern (the 9+2 structure) and perform complex movements in which bends generated at the base repeatedly propagate as waves toward the tip. Although the nature of the underlying regulatory mechanism remained unelucidated, by using Chlamydomonas as an experimental material and employing an approach of isolating and analyzing mutant strains with abnormalities in various dyneins, various dynein molecules were discovered, and by analyzing the changes in motility of the mutant strains, it led to the epoch-making discovery that wave-like motion—which cannot be achieved by the simple sliding of peripheral microtubules—is realized through the action of diverse dyneins. In the research field of flagellar movement, has consistently led the world in molecular biological research on the structures responsible for movement. Numerous research achievements have been published in top international journals, proving that Japan's research on flagellar movement is at a world-leading standard. We have determined that the research by Member Ritsu Kamiya, which has significantly advanced the "understanding of the molecular mechanism of flagellar movement universally present in animals," is worthy of the academic award and have nominated him as a candidate.

Member Eiji Numata[He/She] has engaged in research on diapause, photoperiodism, seasonal adaptation, and biological rhythms using insects as primary materials, discovering numerous findings and achieving academically significant results. Using various insects, [he/she] conducted detailed investigations into the effects of factors such as day length, temperature, and diet conditions on diapause, thereby deepening the understanding of the relationship between environmental factors and diapause/life history.
Furthermore, he successfully demonstrated for the first time that clock genes are involved in insect photoperiodism. He also revealed the existence of a circannual clock, which serves as the basis for circannual rhythms—biological rhythms with a cycle of approximately one year corresponding to seasonal changes—as well as a circatidal rhythm, which is a rhythm with a cycle of approximately 12 hours operating through a mechanism different from that of the circadian clock. The discoveries of the "circannual rhythm" and "circatidal rhythm" were world-pioneering, and following the publication of these results, new research has been developed aimed at elucidating the physical nature of the physiological mechanisms that control these rhythms. Numerous research results have been published in top international journals, and he has led research on a global level, demonstrating the high academic standard of zoology in our country to the world. We determined that the research of Member Eiji Numata, which has greatly contributed to the development of zoology, is worthy of the Society Award and nominated him as a candidate.

2012 Zoological Society of Japan Award for Encouragement of Young Scientists

There were 12 applicants. Most of them met the selection criteria outlined in the regulations, which specify "early-career researchers who conduct active research and show strong promise for future progress and development," making the selection process to a high standard comparable to that of the academic society awards. As a result of detailed deliberations on the applicants' research content, achievements, and future potential, two candidates were decided to be recommended to the Board of Directors.

Winner's Name, Affiliation, and Title

Futahashi Ryo
National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) - Researcher
Research theme: Study on the formation and evolution of insect body color and patterns

Hirotaka Sakamoto
Associate Professor, Ushimado Marine Institute, Faculty of Science, Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University
Research Theme: Neuroendocrinological study on the action mechanisms controlling instinctive behavior

Reasons for the Recommendation

Member Ryo Nihashi, actively conducts original research on the formation and evolution of insect body colors and patterns through multifaceted approaches such as biochemistry, molecular evolutionary biology, and ecology. In his/her research focusing on the molecular mechanisms involved in the formation of mimicry patterns in swallowtail butterfly larvae, he/she identified the effector genes responsible for the patterns and was the first in the world to reveal that juvenile hormone is involved in regulating the expression of these genes. In research on body color formation in adult dragonflies, he/she investigated the phenomenon in which male red dragonflies change color from yellow to red upon maturation, discovering a novel mechanism in which the color change occurs through alterations in the redox state of specific pigments. These achievements are already highly acclaimed internationally as pioneering findings in the elucidation of molecular mechanisms related to insect mimicry patterns and the research on the evolution of body color formation. Numerous research results have been published in top international journals, and the research content and future potential have been highly evaluated.

Member Hirotaka Sakamotoconducts research on the neuroendocrine regulatory mechanisms of animals. Focusing on neurobiology, has achieved numerous significant results in the field of biological regulation. The research spans a wide range of fields—including the relationship between the neural network governing male sexual function and gastrin-releasing peptide and its receptor in the lumbar spinal cord, excessive stress loading and behavioral abnormalities, comparative physiological studies on neurosteroid synthesis and its action in the vertebrate brain, ovulation-inducing peptides in birds, and the development of the muscle-motor neuron system involved in swimming behavior in fish and the mechanism of androgen action in the central nervous system—all of which are original and excellent. Numerous results have been published in top international journals and have received high acclaim. In addition to vertebrates such as fish, birds, and mammals, the research subjects have recently included invertebrates from a phylogenetic perspective. The research content and its future potential for development were highly evaluated.

2012 FY Female Researcher Encouragement OM Award

The OM Award for Encouraging Female Researchers is intended to encourage new attempts by female researchers to develop zoology, and is presented in particular to "outstanding female researchers who find it difficult to continue research in a stable position, but who have a strong will and high ambitions and are eager to work on research." There were 7 applicants. Based on the purpose of the OM Award, we deliberated in detail on the applicants' research content, attitude toward research, research environment, etc., and decided to recommend 2 candidates to the Board of Directors.

Winner's Name, Affiliation, and Title

Eiko Iwakoshi
Hiroshima University Graduate School of Integrated Arts and Sciences, Part-time Lecturer
Research topic: Identification and functional analysis of novel bioactive peptides

Mamiko Hirose
University of the Ryukyus, Faculty of Science, International Coral Reef Research Hub Formation Project, Postdoctoral Researcher
Research Theme: Study on Gonad Formation and Diversity of Algal Transmission Modes in Cnidarians

Reasons for the Recommendation

All of the applicants' research content was excellent. Among them, member Eiko Iwakoshi is a part-time lecturer and member Ayamiko Hirose is a postdoctoral researcher. Although both face difficult circumstances in continuing their research in stable positions, they have continued their research without losing their passion and have achieved outstanding results. In particular, these two individuals were highly evaluated in all aspects that should be emphasized given the nature of the OM Award: independence as researchers, the presence or absence of various obstacles in conducting research along with their research attitude, and their future potential.