Prof. Toshihiro Nukiwa

Prof. Nukiwa

Tribute to Professor Toshihiro Nukiwa – a respiratory physician-scientist leader.

Professor Toshihiro Nukiwa graduated from Tokyo University in 1973, and took a graduate course at the Department of Medical Chemistry, Kyoto University Faculty of Medicine in 1974, with his study on indoleamine 2, 3 deoxygenase (IDO), important in immunobiology. He finished his residency at Tokyo University Hospital and Jiichi Medical College Hospital as a respiratory physician. From 1983 to 1987 he was appointed as a guest researcher and later a visiting associate at the Prof. Ronald G Crystal laboratory of Pulmonary Branch NHLBI, National Institute of Health, USA, where he pioneered mutational analysis of alpha 1-antitrypsin gene. In 1988 he was appointed as associate professor at the Department of Respiratory Medicine, School of Medicine Juntendo University, and on April 1993 he was appointed as professor at the Respiratory Oncology and Molecular Medicine, Division of Cancer Control, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University. In April 2000 he was elected as a chief at the Respiratory Medicine and Translational Research Clinic, Tohoku University Hospital.

I was given the opportunity from the Department of Pulmonology and Respiratory Medicine, Faculty of Medicine University of Indonesia to expand respiratory medicine in Indonesia by the recommendation of Prof. Faisal Yunus and Prof. Anwar Jusuf, to the prestigious respiratory molecular laboratory in Japan, at the Department of Respiratory Oncology and Molecular Medicine, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer Tohoku University-Sendai, Japan in 2001, lead by Prof. Nukiwa.

I first met Prof. Nukiwa on Saturday evening, 6 October 2001 when I had just arrived at his lab in Sendai, Japan, as a research student. I am honoured and grateful to have be given the privilege to learn immuno-oncology and gene therapy at Prof. Nukiwa's lab under the direct supervision of Dr Toshiaki Kikuchi (now Prof. Toshiaki Kikuchi, Niigata University).

As a graduate student from a developing country, mostly working in a clinical setting, I have been impressed to be in the sophisticated laboratory led by physician-scientists, and I was working hard to catch not only a new climate, language, but also basic immunology, oncology, laboratory technique, managing mouse model at an animal lab, and joining multidisciplinary discussions and ward rounds. A lab tradition on Monday morning journal reading, Wednesday morning book reading (JB West Lung Physiology, Molecular Biology of the Cell or Cellular and Molecular Immunology), weekly research progress reports, and lunch time reading new table-of-contents (TOC) of Nature, Science, Blue Journal, Red Journal, NEJM, Cell, and up to now, he is still sending the digital journal club for his students worldwide.

To study and learn in his lab was an lifetime inspiring experience, a key to opening the door to the world of respiratory medicine. I was directly supervised by Dr Kikuchi, and surrounded by great respiratory physician scientists led by Prof. Nukiwa. In 2002, the Department moved to the 3rd floor of the new Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, new, larger, more complete research facilities, and more research students from the Asia-Pacific region (Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, Syria) and Europe (Poland).

Under his leadership, Respiratory Oncology and Molecular Medicine Department made great achievements in high impact factor publications on clinical research, (studies on pirfenidone on IPF, studies of lung cancer by North East Japan Study Group, etc); basic research (gene therapy, immuno-oncology, cancer biology, etc); and translational research (gene therapy in cancer patients, etc). During 1999 to 2013 Prof. Nukiwa's lab commenced PhD graduates, including Dr Prasenohadi, Dr Jamal Zaini, Dr Triya Damayanti, Dr Arif Santoso and myself, from Indonesia.

As a foreign student, I was lucky to be invited to a summer retreat in the beautiful Japanese countryside to join a Japanese traditional ceremony, and was invited to his house during the New Year celebrations.

In December 2007 he was appointed as Professor of Respiratory Medicine (Respiratory Biology, Bioinformatics, and Medicine), Graduate School of Medicine, Tohoku University. Prof. Nukiwa has also served on the editorial boards of many respiratory journals, including the American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology, International Journal of Clinical Oncology, Respirology, and Respiratory Investigation.

As the Emeritus Professor of Tohoku University 2011, Prof. Nukiwa was then appointed as Executive Director, Japan Anti-Tuberculosis Association. He is also an active organiser and respiratory leader. He was the president for the 47th Annual Meeting of Japanese Respiratory Society (JRS) in Tokyo, chair of the Board of Directors of the Japanese Respiratory Society (JRS), and president of the 18th Congress of the APSR held in 2013 in Yokohama. In his organizational activities, he promotes scientific exchange from Asia-Pacific countries, and during his several visit to Indonesia, he has always given Respiratory Masterclass to inspire our respiratory medicine residents. Throughout his career, he has mastered biochemistry, genetics, emphysema, pulmonary fibrosis, cancer biology, immunology, gene therapy to tuberculosis research. In his free time, he enjoys mountain climbing (for example, Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa with Mrs Nukiwa), writing, and as an international instructor of Nishino Breathing Method, visiting the EU every year.

He is the true respiratory physician scientist leader, and he will always be an inspiration and our role model. May God bless Professor Nukiwa and his family, and all of our teachers.