Preparing for first human trial of induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cells for Parkinson's disease: an interview with Jun Takahashi

Professor Jun Takahashi received his MD from Kyoto University in 1986 and his PhD in neurosurgery and neurobiology from Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine in 1993 (both Kyoto, Japan). He then did a postdoctoral fellowship at the Salk Institute (Dr Fred Gage's Laboratory, CA, USA) where he started research work on neural stem cells. Since returning to Kyoto University Hospital in 1997, he has been investigating functional neurosurgery including deep brain stimulation and cell-based therapies for Parkinson's disease. He has been at the Center for iPS Cell Research and Application at Kyoto University since 2010 and is currently a professor in the Department of Clinical Application. His research interest is the development of cell replacement therapy using induced pluripotent stem cells for intractable neurological diseases and is currently leading the first clinical trial to investigate induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cells for PD, which started recruiting on 1 August 2018.