Akiko Iwasaki PhD

Akiko Iwasaki, Waldemar Von Zedtwitz Professor of Immunobiology; Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology; and Dermatology; Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Yale University, New Haven, USA.

The ICIS Awards Committee have chosen Akiko Iwasaki, PhD as one of the two recipients of the 2019 Seymour & Vivian Milstein Award for Excellence in Interferon and Cytokine Research in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the field of immunology, particularly involving interferons and cytokines. Dr. Iwasaki has made major discoveries in the areas of innate anti-viral immunity and mucosal immunity that have resulted in paradigm shifts in our understanding of the immune response and vaccine design. Specifically, Dr. Iwasaki has revealed fundamental mechanisms spanning the activation, function and pathologic roles of type I interferons, from pregnancy to aging. A large body of her work is dedicated to revealing various aspects of interferons and cytokines in viral immunity and host physiology. Her work has direct relevance in several important infectious agents including herpes simplex virus (HSV), influenza virus, rhinovirus, Zika virus and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

Akiko Iwasaki received her Ph.D. from the University of Toronto (Canada) in 1998, and her postdoctoral training from the National Institutes of Health (USA) (1998-2000). She joined Yale University (USA) as a faculty in 2000, and currently is an Investigator of the HHMI and Waldemar Von Zedtwitz Professor of Department of Immunobiology, of Department of Molecular Cellular and Developmental Biology, and of Dermatology. Akiko Iwasaki’s research focuses on the mechanisms of immune defense against viruses at the mucosal surfaces. Her laboratory is interested in how innate recognition of viral infections lead to the generation of adaptive immunity, and how adaptive immunity mediates protection against subsequent viral challenge.