Kensei Tobinai MD, PhD

Kensei Tobinai is the Director, First Outpatient Division at National Cancer Center Hospital, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan. When he received his medical education at Tohoku University School of Medicine, in Sendai, Japan, the educational system comprised a 6-year course consisting of an initial 2 years for general education, followed by 2 years dedicated to basic research in medicine, and the last 2 years studying clinical medicine. At the 6th grade level in medical school, he decided to proceed to internal medicine, but at that time he was still wondering what field of internal medicine he should specialize in.

When he graduated from medical school, the most interesting field for him was endocrinology, probably because he felt it to be a more logical and scientific discipline compared with the remaining fields he has to choose from at that time.