Dean Tabata Receives JSME Kansai Academic Award 2023

Dr. Osamu Tabata, Dean of KUAS Faculty of Engineering, received the 2023 Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers Kansai Academic Award (Research Award). It is awarded to the achievement of a research group that has contributed to the development of mechanical engineering and the machine industry in the Kansai Section.

Dr. Tabata received the award for the work on “Development of Body-on-Chips by Applying Nano-Micro Fabrication” together with Lecturer Yoshikazu Hirai (Kyoto University) and Associate Professor Kenichiro Kamei (New York University, Abu Dhabi).

This research aims to create mini human bodies (body-on-a-chip) by integrating multiple mini-organs cultured from human organ cells, together with microvalve pumps and microfluidic channels, on a chip of a few centimeters square to realize material exchange between the mini-organs. This research will contribute to drug discovery and the elucidation of the causes of disease.

The research group has already succeeded in developing a mini-human body consisting of mini-organs of the liver and heart. The group is currently working to realize a mini-human body consisting of mini-organs of the small intestine and liver, and to elucidate the pathogenic mechanism of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and develop therapeutic drugs. An overview of his research can be found in Dr. Tabata’s Yume Navi (in Japanese).

（Hiroshi Kawakami, Faculty of Engineering）