Receiving the 1st JSDB Frontiers Prize
July 26, 2024
Yuji Atsuta, a lecturer from the Department of Biology, has been awarded the 1st JSDB (Japanese Society of Developmental Biologists) Frontiers Prize. This prize was established this year by the JSDB to recognize young researchers who will lead the future of the field of developmental biology with their highly original research.
Dr. Atsuta has conducted pioneering research on the mechanisms of early kidney and reproductive tract development, the maintenance of primordial germ cells, and vertebrate limb morphogenesis. Recently, through establishing a method to impart limb precursor cell characteristics to non-limb derived cells, he and his colleagues have identified factors important for limb progenitor specification that were previously unknown to be involved in limb development (Atsuta et al., Dev. Cell, 2024, DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2023.12.010). These achievements have been highly acclaimed and have led to the awarding of the prize. Dr. Atsuta commented, "it has been a great honor to receive the award and I would like to express my gratitude to everyone involved in establishing this award. I am going to continue to focus on limb developmental study and strive to uncover remaining mysteries in the field of developmental biology".