Akiko Iwasaki, the Sterling Professor of Immunobiology at Yale University, is the co-winner of the 2025 Keio Medical Science Prize from Keio University in Tokyo, Japan. The award is presented to researchers who have made outstanding and original contributions to the welfare of humanity in the fields of medicine and life sciences.
Throughout her career, Dr. Iwaski has conducted extensive research on the mechanisms of immune defense against viruses at mucosal surfaces, which are a major site of entry for infectious agents. She was honored with the Keio Medical Science Prize for her “pioneering discoveries in innate and adaptive antiviral immunity and her leadership in elucidating the immunological mechanisms of COVID-19 and post-acute infection syndromes.”
In addition to her endowed position, Dr. Iwasaki holds several faculty appointments at Yale, where she has taught for the past 25 years. She is a professor of dermatology; of molecular, cellular, and developmental biology; and of epidemiology in the Yale School of Public Health. Additionally, she is director of the Center for Infection & Immunity at the Yale School of Medicine. Since 2014, she has also served as an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
“This recognition from Keio University is deeply personal,” said Dr. Iwsaki. “It affirms that science is truly a global endeavor — one that transcends geography and culture. I share this honor with my colleagues and trainees at Yale who make our discoveries possible.”
Dr. Iwasaki received her Ph.D. in immunology from the University of Toronto and completed postdoctoral training with the National Institutes of Health.