Zoological Society of Japan
Hiroki Nishida, Chair of the Academic Prize Selection Committee

The Zoological Society of Japan Award for 2011

There were nine applicants. Although zoology consists of 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 useful 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. Although the selection process was extremely difficult, after detailed deliberation on the applicants' research content, research achievements, and degree of contribution to the progress and development of zoology, we decided to recommend two candidates to the Board of Directors. 

Makoto Mizunami, Professor, Faculty of Science, Hokkaido University Graduate School
Target research theme: "Study on the functional design of insect micro-brains"

Reasons for the Recommendation
Member Makoto Mizunami has brought a new development to the understanding of the mechanisms underlying animal behavior through his 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 such a brain possesses advanced perceptual and motor control capabilities comparable to the enormous human brain consisting of tens of billions of elements, he named the insect brain the "microbrain." Using crickets, cockroaches, and ants as subjects, he has advanced his research by comprehensively utilizing diverse methods from ethology, psychology, physiology, histology, pharmacology, and information engineering. His achievements span a wide range, including light-dark processing in the ocellar system, the proposal of the new "Mizunami-Unoki model" in olfactory learning, pheromone reception in social insects, the elucidation of mushroom body functions in spatial orientation and motor control, and the proof of Pavlovian associative learning in insects. Numerous research results have been published in top international journals, demonstrating that Japan's neuroethology research is at a world-leading level. He also has a deep knowledge of the phylogenetic evolution of invertebrate microbrains beyond insects, and through his writings introducing microbrain research in an easy-to-understand manner for the general public, he continues activities to return the fruits of zoology widely to society. We determined that Member Mizunami's research, which has remarkably advanced the "understanding of the design principles of the insect microbrain," is worthy of an academic award and have nominated him as a candidate. 

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

Reasons for the Recommendation
Member Taisen Iguchi has analyzed the effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals on living organisms across a wide range of species, 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. "Environmental hormones" is a coined term proposed by Dr. Iguchi, and his clear explanation of environmental hormone issues is a notable social contribution by him. Dr. Iguchi began elucidating the mechanism by which neonatal estrogen exposure in mice causes abnormalities in reproductive organs after growth starting in the 1970s, 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-determining gene in water fleas, born from an investigation into the effects of environmental hormones on water fleas, stems from Dr. Iguchi's rare insight and original research style. Dr. Iguchi's research proves to the world the high academic level of zoology in our country and has made a tremendous contribution to the development of zoology. For the above reasons, we determined that Dr. Iguchi's research is worthy of the Society Award and nominated him as a candidate.