Ohashi Kazuo

Biography

1990-M.D. awarded by Nara Medical University, Japan 1990-1992 Clinical Resident, First Department of Surgery, Nara Medical University, Japan 1992-1996 Graduate student, Nara Medical University.Ph.D. awarded in 1996. 1996-1998 Faculty, Department of Surgery, Saiseikai Nara Hospital, Japan 1998 May-August Senior postdoctoral Research fellow, Department of Genetics,　University of Washington, USA 1998-2002 Senior Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Department of Pediatrics, Program in Human Gene Therapy, Stanford University School of Medicine, USA 1999-2001 Certified Research Scientist Abroad, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science 2002-2003 Faculty, Department of Surgery, Nara Medical University Hospital, Japan 2003-2007 Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery, Nara Medical University, Japan 2006-2007 Visiting Associate Professor, Institute of Advanced Biomedical Engineering, Tokyo Women’s Medical University, Tokyo 2007-current  Associate Professor, Institute of Advanced Biomedical Engineering, Tokyo Women’s Medical University, Tokyo Women’s Medical University, Tokyo 2007-current  Associate Professor, Department of Surgery, 2007-current  Visiting Associate Professor, Department of Surgery, Nara Medical University, Japan 2011-current  Visiting Associate Professor, Tottori University School of Medicine, Japan Committee members: 2006-2008:  Councilor, The Leading Project for Nanotechnology and Tissue Engineering, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Welfare, JAPAN. 2008-2009:  Committee member, Working Group of Next Generation Medical Device Development, Ministry of Health, Labur and Welfare, JAPAN. 2006-current:  Committee member, Embryonic/Somatic Stem Cell and Tissue Engineering Committee, American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy 2010-current:  Councilor, The Japanese Society for Regenerative Medicine Fellowships and Awards 1996    Nakano Prize for Excellent Research, Nara Medical University, Japan 1997    Nakano Prize for Excellent Research, Nara Medical University, Japan 1997   Medical Research Award from Nara Prefecture Scientific Committee, Japan 1999-2001 Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Post-doctoral Fellowship for Study Abroad 2003  Excellent Research Award 2003, The Japanese Society for Regenerative Medicine 2008  Bayer Hemophilia Award  

Research Interest

Dr.Ohashi has extensive prior training in biochemistry, liver and pancreas biology, cell and gene therapy, and tissue engineering. Dr. Ohashi received his M.D. and Ph.D degrees from Nara Medical University, Japan.  He has been a member of American Society of Gene Therapy, The Transplantation Society, The Cell Transplantation Society. Dr. Ohashi is now one of the world-leaders in the field of cell-based liver therapy including liver/islet tissue engineering and hepatocyte/islet transplantation. He has established important scientific principles for development of gene therapy, cell-based therapy and liver/islet tissue engineering. Diseases targeted include hemophilia, diabetes mellitus, inherited liver diaseases, and coagulation deficiencies. It is important to note that he had established several new technologies to engineer functional tissues/organs that function long-term.  He has depthful background in viral vector development, so that combining cell and gene therapy is also his major field. He has published two papers in Nature Medicine and one in Nature Genetics.