Prof. Nobutaka Hattori is a Chairman and Professor of the Department of Neurology, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.  

    He was involved in research about molecular mechanisms of Parkinson’s disease (PD) since 1989.  He found decrease in the amount of complex I in the substantia nigra of PD patients. More recently, his collaborators and he identified the disease gene for an autosomal recessive form of young onset familial PD, and named the gene as “parkin”.  This is the second form of familial PD in which the disease gene was identified.  In addition, they found that the gene product, parkin was direct linked to ubiquitin- proteasome pathway as an ubiquitin ligase. This discovery suggested that protein degradation system was involved in the pathogenesis of not only monogenic form of PD but also sporadic PD. He has more than 300 peer-reviewed papers. Now he has been working hard for investigating and developing therapeutic methods not only for PD but other neurological diseases.

Academic Background

1985　Graduated from Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo

1989　Certification in Neurology, Japanese Board of Neurology

1994　Ph.D. degree from Juntendo University Graduate School

1995-1998 Assistant Professor, Department of Neurology, Juntendo University

1999-2003 Lecturer, Department of Neurology, Juntendo University

2003-2006 Associate Professor, Department of Neurology, Juntendo University

2006- present: Professor, Department of Neurology, Juntendo University

Honors

2002   The 39th  Baelz Prize

2003   The Award for SOCIETAS NEUROLOGICA JAPONICA

2012   The Commendation for Science and Technology by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology

2014     The Yoshikuni Mizuno Lectureship Award 2014 by the Asian Oceanian Section of the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society (MDS-AOS)

Research Field of Interest

1. Parkinson disease

Autophagy and ubiquitin proteasome pathway

Title:Pathomechanisms, clinical features, and treatments for Parkinson’s disease