Selection Committee for the 2016 Academic Awards and Other Honors (Held on May 21, 2016)
Koji Akasaka, Takahiro Asami, Hiroshi Iida, Taisen Iguchi, Shigeru Kuratani, Kenji Tomioka, Toshiya Matsushima
Chairperson Taisen Iguchi

2016 Zoological Society of Japan Award

All four applicants for this award are outstanding researchers representing diverse fields of zoology, and they met the selection guideline criterion of being "researchers who have achieved academically extremely beneficial results that make important and remarkable contributions to the progress and development of zoology." As a result of detailed deliberation on the applicants' research content, research achievements, and degree of contribution to the progress and development of zoology, we have decided to recommend the following one individual to the Board of Directors. 

Masahisa Nakamura, Professor, Faculty of Education and Integrated Arts and Sciences, Waseda University
Research topic: Study on gonadal differentiation in amphibians

Reasons for the Recommendation
Member Masahisa Nakamura clarified that the androgen receptor (AR) gene and steroid hormone synthesis enzyme genes are involved in the masculinization of the gonads of wild wrinkled frogs, which possess two sex-determination systems (the XY and ZW systems). At the same time, he performed the first chromosomal mapping in amphibians and discovered DNA markers for sex determination in the wrinkled frog. Furthermore, he revealed that the AR gene is located on the sex chromosomes; while the Z-AR on the Z chromosome is expressed normally, the W-AR on the W chromosome is hardly expressed due to numerous mutations in the transcription region, making the Z-AR gene advantageous for the masculinization of the wrinkled frog. Subsequently, as a result of introducing the Z-AR gene into female (ZW) embryos, the female sex was incompletely converted to form ovotestes, demonstrating for the first time in the world that the AR gene is deeply involved in vertebrate sex determination. He also discovered that three-dimensional reconstruction is essential for elucidating the mechanisms of gonadal differentiation. It was determined that the achievements of Member Masahisa Nakamura, who has consistently conducted world-leading research in the study of amphibian gonadal differentiation and made immense contributions to the development of the field of reproductive endocrinology, make him well-suited for the Zoological Society of Japan Award. 

 Abstract of Academic Prize Winner (Masahisa Nakamura)