image: Photo of Prof. Kazunori Kataoka, Center Director of Innovation Center of NanoMedicine (iCONM) view more
Credit: Innovation Center of NanoMedicine
Clarivate, a global provider of information services, selects researchers from around the world who have produced Nobel Prize-worthy research results based on Clarivate's proprietary data analysis and honors their achievements with the Citation LaureatesTM. On September 19, 2023, the 2023 Clarivate LaureatesTM were announced, and we are pleased to announce that Prof. Kazunori Kataoka, Center Director of the Innovation Center of NanoMedicine (iCONM) in Kawasaki City, Japan, has received the award. According to a press release* issued by Clarivate Analytics Japan K.K., the Japanese subsidiary of Clarivate, 23 people from all over the world received the award, and two were selected from Japan, including Prof. Kataoka. This prize is awarded to researchers who have an extremely high citation record and whose research is deemed to have such an impact on society that they are worthy of the Nobel Prize. To date, 71 of the prize winners (396 in total) have received the Nobel Prize.
*Press Release by Clarivate:
Clarivate Unveils Citation Laureates 2023 – Annual List of Researchers of Nobel Class - Clarivate
So far, Prof. Kataoka has created various nanostructures, such as polymeric micelles, by self-assembling polymeric compounds (block polymers) consisting of chains of polymers with different properties (for example, polyethylene glycol and polyamino acids), and has developed a new method to create nanostructures that can function as a drug delivery system (DDS) that safely excretes drugs and genes after they are released in target tissues, circumventing the immune system of the living body. The research and development of DDS (nano-DDS) using polymeric nanostructures, which began with Prof. Kataoka's research, is now expanding to research groups around the world, and is being developed into systems that deliver various drugs, proteins, nucleic acid drugs, mRNA, and genes into the body and make them function properly.
＜Biography of Prof. Kazunori Kataoka＞
Vice Chairperson / Kawasaki Institute of Industrial Promotion (KIIP)
Center Director / Innovation Center of Nanomedicine (iCONM)
Emeritus Professor / University of Tokyo
Over the past 40 years, Prof. Kataoka has made numerous achievements in the field of biomaterials, particularly in the areas of drug delivery/drug targeting, non-viral gene vectors, and nanomedicine, and has published over 700 peer-reviewed papers, which have been cited over 69,000 times in Clarivate's analysis (h-index is 139). He has also been recognized as a Top 1% Highly Cited Researcher a total of 7 times for 6 consecutive years, from 2017 to present. He has over 600 patents and has been involved in the establishment of 5 start-up companies. Major awards include the American Society for Biomaterials (Clemson Award) (2004), the American Society for Controlled Release (Founder's Award) (2006), the NIMS Award (2009), and the Humboldt Research Award (2012), Leona Esaki Award (2012), Prince Takamatsu Cancer Research Fund Award (2017), Biomaterials Global Impact Award (2023), Mukai Award (2023), and many others. He has been elected to the Japanese Academy of Engineering (2011), American Academy of Engineering (2017), American Academy of Inventors (2017). Currently at iCONM, under the direction of Director Kataoka, research on nanomachines, a further evolution of nanoDDS, and the development of nanomedical technologies that can be used at home are underway, and 10 start-up companies have been established in the last few years with the aim of realizing the "in-body hospitals" of the future.
＜Selection Process of Clarivate LaureatesTM＞