Zoological Society of Japan
Academic Prize Selection Committee
Chairperson Hiroki Nishida

The Selection Committee for Academic Awards, etc., which selects candidates for the 2011 Academic Awards, Encouragement Awards, and OM Award for Encouragement of Female Researchers, met on Friday, June 3, at the Prime Central Tower conference rooms in Nagoya. The selection was conducted with the full attendance of all seven committee members representing the fields of endocrinology, morphology/cytology, physiology, development, biochemistry/molecular biology, ecology/behavior, and taxonomy/phylogeny/genetics/evolution (Takahiro Asami, Sumio Takahashi, Akihisa Terakita, Hiroki Nishida, Toshiya Matsushima, Shinji Uemura, and Kazuyuki Migami). There were 9 applicants for the Academic Award, 16 for the Encouragement Award, and 4 for the OM Award. Based on the selection regulations for each award, the contents of the recommendation letters (for the Academic Award and Encouragement Award) and application forms (for the OM Award) were deliberated in detail. Ultimately, it was unanimously decided to recommend two members for the Academic Award, three for the Encouragement Award, and two for the OM Award as candidates to the Board of Directors.

2011 Zoological Society of Japan Award

There were nine 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 academically extremely beneficial and make an important and remarkable contribution to the progress and development of zoology." As a result, the deliberations were held at a high standard. Although the selection process was extremely difficult, after detailed deliberations regarding the applicants' research content, research achievements, and contributions 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

Mizuna Makoto
Professor, Faculty of Science, Graduate School of Science, Hokkaido University
Research Topic: Study on the Functional Design of Insect Micro-brains

Taisen Iguchi
Professor, Okazaki Institute for Integrative Bioscience, National Institutes of Natural Sciences
Research theme: "Research on the biological effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals"

Reasons for the Recommendation

Member Makoto Mizunamihas brought about new developments in the understanding of the mechanisms underlying animal behavior through outstanding research on the insect nervous system and its design principles. Insects possess only about one million nerve cells in their tiny bodies. Focusing on the fact that these brains possess advanced perceptual and motor control capabilities comparable to our own massive human brains consisting of tens of billions of elements, he named the insect brain the "micro-brain." Conducting research targeting crickets, cockroaches, and ants by comprehensively utilizing diverse methods from ethology, psychology, physiology, histology, pharmacology, and information engineering, his achievements are wide-ranging. These include light-dark processing in the ocellar system, the proposal of the new "Mizunami-Unoki model" in olfactory learning, pheromone reception in social insects, elucidation of the functions of the mushroom bodies in spatial orientation and motor control, and proof of Pavlovian associative learning in insects. Numerous research findings have been published in top international journals, demonstrating that Japan's neuroethological research is at a world-leading level. Beyond insects, he has a deep understanding of the phylogenetic evolution of invertebrate micro-brains, and through his writings introducing micro-brain research in an accessible way to the general public, he continues activities to return the achievements of zoology widely to society. We determined that the research of Member Makoto Mizunami, which has significantly advanced "the understanding of the design principles of insect micro-brains," is worthy of the Society Award and have nominated him as a candidate.

Member Taisen Iguchihas analyzed the effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals on various organisms, ranging from invertebrates to mammals, discovering numerous findings and achieving academically significant results. Exogenous chemical substances that disrupt endocrine regulation by steroid hormones are endocrine-disrupting chemicals, commonly known as environmental hormones. The term "environmental hormones" is a coined word proposed by Dr. Iguchi, and his easy-to-understand explanations of the environmental hormone issue are a notable social contribution by him. Since the 1970s, Dr. Iguchi began elucidating the mechanism by which neonatal exposure to estrogen in mice causes abnormalities in reproductive organs after growth, and he has been active as a world leader in elucidating the molecular and cellular mechanisms of this phenomenon. Furthermore, he has since clarified the effects of environmental hormones targeting numerous species. Among them, the research on the identification of the sex-determination gene in water fleas, generated from investigations into the effects of environmental hormones on water fleas, was born from Dr. Iguchi's rare insight and original research style. Dr. Iguchi's research proves to the world the high academic standard of zoology in our country and has made a tremendous contribution to the development of zoology. For these reasons, we judged that Dr. Iguchi's research is worthy of the Academic Award and nominated him as a candidate.

2011 Zoological Society of Japan Encouragement Award

There were 16 applicants. Most of them met the selection guideline requirement of being "young researchers who conduct active research and are strongly expected to make future progress and development," making the selection process of as high a standard as that for the Academic Award. As a result of detailed deliberations on the applicants' research content, research achievements, and future potential—and partly due to the high number of applicants—it was decided to recommend three candidates to the Board of Directors, which is one more than usual.

Winner's Name, Affiliation, and Title

Yuki Kodama
Assistant Professor, Department of Science, Faculty of Education and Science, Kochi University
Elucidation of the intracellular symbiosis establishment mechanism between the ciliate Paramecium bursaria and symbiotic Chlorella

Toru Miura
Associate Professor, Faculty of Environmental Earth Science, Hokkaido University Graduate School
Research Theme: Ecodevelopmental biology of sociality and phenotypic plasticity in insects

Takashi Yazawa
University of Fukui, Faculty of Medicine, Division of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Internal Lecturer
Research theme: "Elucidation of the molecular mechanisms of steroid hormone production"

Reasons for the Recommendation

Member Yuki Kodamahas clarified the detailed process of the infection route for the establishment of intracellular symbiosis of symbiotic Chlorella in the ciliate Paramecium bursaria using an original method. Although "intracellular symbiosis," which is involved in the evolution of eukaryotic cells, has attracted the attention of many evolutionary biology researchers, Dr. Kodama focused on the intracellular symbiosis between protozoa and algae, using the relationship between Paramecium bursaria and Chlorella as a model to elucidate the establishment mechanism of secondary symbiosis. The characteristics of this model system are that the host and the intracellular symbiont can survive independently, and the process of establishing intracellular symbiosis can be reproduced in the laboratory. She has worked consistently on this research topic since her doctoral program in graduate school and has continued to pursue it enthusiastically after joining Kochi University; her sincere attitude toward research is considered a great encouragement to other young female researchers as well. Although many animals have Chlorella as symbionts, the results regarding the establishment process of secondary symbiosis clarified so far are expected to make a major contribution in the future as a model for elucidating the mechanism of cellular evolution through intracellular symbiosis.

Member Toru Miuraconducts research on phenotypic plasticity, which exhibits morphological diversity despite having the identical genome. Phenotypic plasticity is universal in organisms. In evolutionary ecology, it is also called a reaction norm, and the study of its ecological and physiological functions and adaptive significance has long been all the rage. Almost in parallel, evolutionary developmental biology progressed, comparing gene expression during developmental processes among different organisms. For thirty years, the two fields were entirely separate. Professor Toru Miura is a pioneer of ecological evolutionary developmental biology (eco-evo-devo) or ecological developmental genetics that bridges the two. Making full use of state-of-the-art gene expression analysis, he is elucidating the developmental mechanisms by which morphology differentiates functionally in a manner dependent on the environment, as seen in caste differentiation mechanisms in social insects, wing and reproductive polymorphisms in aphids, predator-induced defense in water fleas, and mandible polymorphism in stag beetles. The developmental genetic research on functionally distinct morphologies that differ remarkably among castes is globally recognized as a precursor to sociogenomics, which is expected to experience dramatic future development.

Member Takashi Yazawawas the first in the world to induce the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells into steroid hormone-producing cells of the gonads and adrenal glands, and has achieved remarkable results in elucidating the molecular mechanisms of steroid hormone production. To elucidate the molecular mechanisms of cell differentiation and hormone production in steroid hormone-producing organs, Dr. Yazawa established a differentiation model system using mesenchymal stem cells. By ectopically expressing SF-1 in these mesenchymal stem cells and adding cAMP, a second messenger of gonadotropins, to the culture medium, all of the cells differentiated into testis Leydig cell-like cells. Similarly, he succeeded in differentiating them into adrenal cortex-like cells. Furthermore, using this differentiation model system, he proved that the androgen (11-KT: 11-ketotestosterone) production pathway, previously thought to be specific to fish, is conserved even in mice and humans. Research using this mesenchymal stem cell differentiation model system is expected to yield new insights into steroid hormone production and cell differentiation in the future.

2011 Women Researchers Encouragement OM Award

The OM Award for Encouraging Female Researchers aims to "encourage new attempts by female researchers toward the development of zoology, and is presented in particular to outstanding female researchers who find it difficult to continue their research in stable positions, but who have a strong will and high aspirations to enthusiastically engage in research." There were 6 applicants. Based on the objectives of the OM Award, the research content, attitude toward research, research environment, and other aspects of 4 applicants were deliberated in detail, and as a result, it was decided to recommend 2 candidates to the Board of Directors.

Winner's Name, Affiliation, and Title

Kazuko Tsuchihara
Visiting Researcher, Doshisha University Research Center for Neurosensing and Bionavigation
Research theme: Identification and functional analysis of regulatory proteins involved in the detoxification of hazardous substances

Shinomiya Ai
Assistant Professor of Natural Sciences (Biology), Faculty of Law, Keio University
Research topic: "Intraspecific variation of sex-related genes driving the diversification of sex-determining mechanisms"

Reasons for the Recommendation

All of the applicants' research topics were excellent. In particular, Member Kazuko Tsuchihara is a contracted researcher and Member Ai Shinomiya is a fixed-term assistant professor. Although both are in situations where it is difficult to continue their research with a stable status, they have continued their research without losing their passion and have achieved outstanding results. These two individuals, in particular, were highly evaluated in all aspects that should be emphasized given the nature of the OM Award: independence as a researcher, research attitude and the presence or absence of various obstacles in conducting research, and future potential.