MEDICINE MOMENT IN HISTORY
NOBEL-WORTHY CANCER RESEARCH Pathologist Katsusaburo Yamagiwa and his research assistant Koichi Ichikawa were the first to prove chronic exposure to chemicals can cause cancer in 1915. Ichikawa, then a student of Hokkaido University, conducted experiments under Yamagiwa’s supervision at Tokyo Imperial University, in which they induced tumour growth by rubbing coal tar on the surface of rabbit ears. Yamagiwa was nominated for a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1925, 1926 and 1928, and again in 1936 with Ichikawa. They lost out to another scientist whose cancer research was soon found to be wrong, yet the prize was maintained. Today, the first samples of induced tumour are displayed in specimen rooms at The University of Tokyo and Hokkaido University.
Katsusaburo Yamagiwa Credit: Wikipedia Commons
Koichi Ichikawa Credit: Laboratory of Comparative Pathology. Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. Hokkaido University. All rights reserved.
Founded in 1876 as Sapporo Agricultural College, Hokkaido University is one of the oldest, largest and most prestigious universities in Japan. The university provides diverse degree programs for international students in the sciences and humanities. Boasting one of the biggest and most beautiful campuses in Japan, the university houses cutting-edge research facilities, a university hospital, and a wide variety of field research centers.
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