Professor Kazuya Yamagata of Kumamoto University Graduate School of Medical Sciences Receives the Hagedorn Award

Professor Kazuya Yamagata of the Graduate School of Medical Sciences has received the Hagedorn Award at the 69th Annual Meeting of the Japan Diabetes Society (held May 21-23, 2026, at the Osaka International Convention Center). This award is presented by the Japan Diabetes Society to recognize internationally acclaimed and established diabetes research. Professor Yamagata was honored for his research achievements in "Elucidation of the molecular mechanism of diabetes onset from the perspective of nuclear factors." The award ceremony took place on May 21, and the commemorative lecture was held on May 23, both at the Osaka International Convention Center. In Japan, the number of people strongly suspected of having diabetes continues to rise, reaching an estimated 11 million. While some diabetes is familial (hereditary), the causative genes, pathology, and appropriate treatments were previously unknown. Professor Yamagata elucidated that the HNF1A gene is a major causative gene for hereditary diabetes and that mutations in this gene lead to the onset of the disease. He also clarified the characteristics and optimal treatments for diabetes caused by abnormalities in this gene. Professor Yamagata's success in being the first in the world to discover the existence of diabetes caused by HNF1A gene abnormalities and to elucidate its detailed pathology was highly evaluated, leading to this award.