Speaker Image
Invited Guest

Kenji Osafune

Current Position, Affiliation
  • Professor, Center for iPS Cell Research and Application (CiRA), Kyoto University, Japan
Education / Training
  • 1996, M.D., Faculty of Medicine, Kyoto University, Japan
  • 2003, PhD., Graduate School of Science, University of Tokyo, Japan
Professional and Research Experience
  • 1996 - 2000, Resident in Nephrology, Kyoto University Hospital and Hyogo Prefectural Amagasaki Hospital, Japan
  • 2000 - 2005, Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Fellow, Graduate School of Science, University of Tokyo, Japan
  • 2005 - 2008, Postdoctoral Fellow, Harvard University, USA
  • 2008 - 2014, Lecturer and Associate Professor, CiRA, Kyoto University, Japan
  • 2014 - Present, Professor, CiRA, Kyoto University, Japan
Awards & Honors
  • 2025, Japanese Society of Regenerative Medicine Award
  • 2025, 12nd CiRA Award
  • 2015, Young Investigator Imura Award 2015
  • 2015, 2nd CiRA Award
  • 2014, Japanese Society of Nephrology Ohshima Award
Selected Publications
  • Araoka T., et al. Human iPSC-derived nephron progenitor cells treat acute kidney injury and chronic kidney disease in mouse models. Science Translational Medicine 2025; 17: eadt5553.
  • Tsujimoto H., et al. Selective induction of human renal interstitial progenitor-like cell lineages from iPSCs reveals development of mesangial and EPO-producing cells. Cell Reports 2024; 43: 113602.
  • Mae SI., et al. Human iPSC-derived renal collecting duct organoids model cystogenesis in ADPKD. Cell Reports 2023; 42: 113431.
  • Mae SI., et al., Monitoring and robust induction of nephrogenic intermediate mesoderm from human pluripotent stem cells. Nature Communications 4: 1367, 2013.
  • Osafune K. et al. Marked differences in differentiation propensity among human embryonic stem cell lines. Nature Biotechnology 26: 313-315, 2008.