Tasuku Honjo
Deputy Director-General and Distinguished Professor, Institute for Advanced Study, Kyoto University

It was a great honor to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
I am deeply grateful to all my research collaborators and students who have shared painstaking endeavors over the years, those who provided assistance to us in various forms, my family for supporting me at all times, and many other people.

What pleases me most is that the very basic research, including the one that led to the discovery of the PD-1 molecule in 1992, has been applied in new cancer therapies and clinical settings, providing me with a genuine sense that my research was worthwhile. Receiving such a distinguished award on top of this makes me feel incredibly fortunate.

In the hope that immunotherapy will save even more cancer patients in the future, I plan to continue my research for some time to come, as well as expecting that other researchers across the world will strive toward the same goal and achieve greater advancements in the treatment of cancer.
My Nobel Prize was a result of basic research being developed into clinical applications. I would be delighted if this achievement inspires other researchers engaged in basic research and accelerates the progress of basic research even further.

I have long felt the need to accelerate basic medical research and enhance the support available to researchers engaged in basic research, and it is for this reason that we established the “Yuh-shi Fund” in commemoration of my Nobel Prize award.
I look forward to being able to develop an environment in which young researchers can pursue their work freely and securely.

It is my sincere hope that many people will offer their support to this project.