Rate My Professor Jun Takahashi

Jun Takahashi is a Professor in the Department of Clinical Application at the Center for iPS Cell Research and Application (CiRA), Kyoto University, where he also serves as Director. He earned his M.D. from Kyoto University in 1986 and his Ph.D. from the Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine in 1993, with a focus on neurosurgery and neurobiology. His early career included clinical and academic roles in the Department of Neurosurgery at Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. He joined CiRA as an Associate Professor in 2008 and was appointed Professor in 2012.

Professor Takahashi’s research centers on developing iPS cell-based therapies for intractable neurological diseases, with a primary emphasis on Parkinson’s disease. His work has advanced methods for inducing dopaminergic neurons, ensuring cell safety and efficacy through animal models, and conducting clinical trials. A physician-initiated Phase I/II trial of iPS cell-derived dopaminergic progenitor cells for Parkinson’s disease, led by his team at Kyoto University Hospital, was completed in 2023. He has received awards including the Cell Replacement Therapy for Parkinson’s Disease Award from The Michael J. Fox Foundation, the Japanese Society for Regenerative Medicine Award, and multiple CiRA Awards. In addition to his professorship, he held the position of Director of CiRA from 2022 to 2026.