Prof. Kiminobu Sugaya

Kiminobu Sugaya, PhD has grown up in Yokohama, Japan. Hestudied pharmacology at the Science University of Tokyo, where heearned a B.S., a M.S. and a Ph.D. Dr. Sugaya received a post doctoral training from Dr. Ezio Giacobini, who built the base for the current cholinesterase Alzheimer’s disease therapies, at the Southern Universityof Illinois (1988-1989), where he elegantly showed a certain type of cholinergic receptor is reduced in Alzheimer’s disease. After the postdoctoral training he worked 3 years as a lecturer in his alma mater since he received agrant to set up a new institute form Japanese government. Then Dr. Sugaya move to the Mayo Clinic at Jacksonvillein 1992, where he expanded his research with molecular biological techniques and introduced the hypothesis of glial activation as a mechanism of neuro degenerative. There, he finished his postdoctoral training and became Assistant Professor of Pharmacology and Associate Consultant. His article became the front page of Molecular Brain Research. Dr. Sugaya moved to the Department of Psychiatry in the School of Medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicagoin 1997. Where he became Associate Professor of Physiology and Biophysics, Ophthalmology and Bioengineering. He has further expanded his research area to the biologyof neural stem cell (NSC) and his publication regarding improvement of memory in the aged animal by stem cell transplantation was well received form the society and reported by Washington Post, BBC, NBC, ABC and other media in all over the world. This study is the first time to show the possible use of stem cell to treat age associated memory problem. Dr. Sugaya accepted a position in the University of Central Florida as a full professor in 2004. He continues to have interests in treating neuro degenerative diseases by stemcell technologies and his work at UCF has been introduced by Wall Street Journal and other media. He is a Director of Stem Cell Laboratory, Chair of Neuroscience Consortium for Central Florida and Chair of Central Florida Chapter of Society for Neuroscience. He is serving as a Council member of the Florida State organization, the Center for Universal Research to Eradicate Disease. He is also a founder and a chair of biotech company, Progenicyte, which holds all his patents. His laboratory in Burnett School of Biomedical Science, Collegeof Medicine, is very active, published in journals including PNAS and more filed than 60 patents. They are conducting totally new stem cell researches to treat neuro degenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and stroke using the patient’s own stem cells, which eliminate ethical and many other issues associate with embryonic stem cells. One is to produce of brain cells from the patient own adult stem cells, which preceded to the last year Novel prize winning iPS cell technology. They also recently succeeded to produce retina and inner hair cells to treat deafness and blindness. Another is to increase endogenous stem cell by systemic administration of a drug, which could be “the Fountain of Youth” everybody long wanted. Dr. Sugaya is collaborating with many international institutions including National Institute of Health and Novel Prize Institution, Karolinska Institute (Sweden) and aggressively investigating cures for the diseases associate with aging. Dr. Sugaya recently received National Honor Plaque of Panama for exceptional contribution to neuroscience based on his study on stem cell therapies for neuro degenerative diseases including from the President of Panama.