On 17th March 2026, Professor Yasuyuki Sakai, Department of Chemical System Engineering, received The 2025 Society of Chemical Engineers, Japan Award (Kamesaburo Ikeda Memorial Award).
The 2025 Society of Chemical Engineers, Japan Award (Kamesaburo Ikeda Memorial Award)
The 2025 Society of Chemical Engineers, Japan Award (Kamesaburo Ikeda Memorial Award), is presented annually to up to two individuals who have conducted outstanding research in chemical engineering and achieved particularly significant academic accomplishments from a broad perspective.
About awarded research
The title of the research is “Innovations in Cell Culture Systems Based on the Control of Substance Transport”, all based on a chemical engineering understanding of substance transport and reactions—such as those involving oxygen, nutrients, waste products, and growth factors—in cell culture. The first project concerns a fundamental improvement in oxygen supply in cell culture systems used for evaluating chemicals and drugs in humans. By utilizing gas-permeable membranes, I resolved the insufficient oxygen supply flux in culture plates—a problem identified 60 years ago but never fundamentally solved until now—and achieved aerobic respiration in the culture system that mirrors that of living organisms. The second project concerns the enhancement of efficiency and reduction of costs in the mass production of stem cells for regenerative medicine. In suspension culture of stem cell aggregates, we achieved ultra-high density through dialysis operations, thereby concentrating endogenous factors—a manifestation of self-organization ability—and consequently succeeded in reducing the use of exogenous growth factors, a major cause of high costs, to approximately one-tenth of the previous amount. Both of the approaches hold the potential to significantly revolutionize existing methods and concepts, and some of these results have already led to the practical application of new culture plates and microphysiological systems (physiological microcell culture systems).
Your impression & future plan
These results have been conducted based on my question of how to construct cultured organs that respond in the same way as the human body and on another question of how to reduce the cost of stem cell expansion. In both cases, we drew inspiration from the rationality observed in transport and reactions of substances in our body living, as well as the resulting cellular metabolism, differentiation, and proliferation, and achieved these results by utilizing various advanced technologies and materials. This award recognizes the collaborative achievements of numerous researchers, laboratory staff, and students. I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to everyone, and I remain committed to continuing my efforts to advance research and facilitate the societal implementation of these findings, guided by the original research questions mentioned above.
Masatake Yamazaki (M1), Department of Chemical System Engineering, received SCEJ 91st Annual Meeting, Excellent Student Award
Rika Mizunuma (B4), Department of Chemical System Engineering, received SCEJ 91st Annual Meeting Student Encouragement Award
