Irvine, Calif., Feb. 12, 2025 — Kei Igarashi, Chancellor’s Fellow and associate professor of anatomy and neurobiology at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine, has been named 1 of 5 recipients of the 2024 Inoue Prize for Science.
Presented to researchers younger than 50 who have made significant achievements in basic natural science research, the award recognizes Igarashi’s discoveries of the brain mechanisms governing object memory and their deterioration in dementia.
“I am very honored to receive this esteemed award on behalf of myself and my lab members,” Igarashi said. “In particular, I would like to thank UC Irvine alumnus and member of my lab Dr. Heechul Jun, who is currently a research-track psychiatry resident at New York University. Even after completing his Ph.D. in my lab for his M.D.-Ph.D. program, he continued conducting experiments every day between 4 and 7 a.m. before heading over to UCI Medical Center. I am incredibly proud of all my lab members and their tireless passion for science.”
Igarashi’s most recent breakthrough came in 2024, when he identified the neurons responsible for “item memory,” providing critical insights into how the brain encodes and retrieves information about past experiences. This discovery deepened scientific understanding of how memories are formed and retrieved, offering new hope for treating Alzheimer’s disease.
The Inoue Foundation for Science announced the five recipients on Dec. 17, 2024. Toshiko Abe, Japan’s minister of education, culture, sports, science and technology, presented the awards – along with a gold medal and 2 million yen – at a ceremony in Tokyo on Feb. 5.
This honor follows Igarashi’s receipt of the Japan Academy Medal in 2023 for his groundbreaking research on the neural circuit mechanisms of associative memory and their vulnerability to Alzheimer’s disease.
“In my lab, we delve into the intricate neural circuitry and the process by which we link related experiences together – and how Alzheimer’s disease disrupts these connections, leading to memory impairment,” Igarashi said. “By uncovering potential targets for therapeutic intervention, our findings . . . pave the way for future treatments for Alzheimer’s and other memory-related disorders.”
The other recipients were Shigeyoshi Inoue, professor of silicon chemistry at the Technical University of Munich; Takahiro Sagawa, professor of applied physics at the University of Tokyo; Mizuki Tada, professor of chemistry at Nagoya University; and Eriko Nango, professor of molecular and chemical life sciences at Tohoku University.
Established in 1984, the Inoue Foundation for Science supports scientific research by providing grants and awards to investigators in various scientific fields. It is known for its contributions to the advancement of science and technology in Japan, particularly through the Inoue Prize for Science and the Inoue Research Award for Young Scientists, which recognize outstanding achievements in the natural sciences.
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