JSPS - International Prize for Biology

The International Prize for Biology was instituted in April of 1985 by the Committee on the International Prize for Biology. It aims to commemorate the sixty-year reign of Emperor Showa and his longtime devotion to biological research and also to offer tribute to the present Emperor His Majesty Emperor Akihito, who has strived over many years to advance the study taxonomy of gobioid fishes while contributing continuously to the developing of this Prize. The award ceremony is held in the presence of His Majesty the Emperor.

Presentation Ceremony
of the 2011 International Prize for Biology
The award ceremony was held on 28 November at the Japan Academy, inviting the recipient of 2011 International Prize for Biology, Dr. Eric Harris Davidson. On behalf of his Majesty the Emperor, his Imperial Highness the Crown Prince attended the ceremony and a reception held in honor of the award recipient. Her Majesty the Empress attended the reception.
Pictures

Program

1. Opening Address

Dr. Takashi Sugimura
Chair, Committee on the International Prize for Biology

2. Report on the Process of Selection

Dr. Masamitsu Wada
Chair, Selection Committee on the International Prize for Biology

3. Presentation of the Prize

4. Delivery of an Imperial Gift

5. Congratulatory Addresses

Mr. Yoshihiko Noda
      Prime Minister
      (read by Mr. Hiroyuki Nagahama, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary)
Mr. Masaharu Nakagawa
      Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology

6. Acceptance Address

Dr. Eric Harris Davidson
Norman Chandler Professor, California Institute of Technology

7. Closing

On Monday, October 17, 2011, the Committee on the International Prize for Biology (chaired by Dr. Takashi Sugimura, Secretary General, The Japan Academy) of Japan Society for the Promotion of Science decided to present the 27^th (2011) International Prize for Biology to Dr. Eric Harris Davidson, Norman Chandler Professor of Cell Biology, Division of Biology, California Institute of Technology, USA. The field of specialization for the 27^th Prize is "Developmental Biology".
Dr. Davidson proposed the theoretical concept of “Gene Regulatory Networks” and experimentally validated this concept though research on molecular development mechanisms in living organisms. This research exerted a great impact on not only the field of developmental biology, but also on genetics, cell biology, molecular biology, neurobiology, immunology and other related fields, while helping to make significant advances across all domains of biology.