A biography for Tasuku Honjohasn’t been written yet.
“In the wake of the pain, economic loss, and unprecedented global suffering caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, I am greatly saddened that my name and that of Kyoto University have been used to spread false accusations and misinformation.”
“To make yourself a good scientist I would say first, you have to have curiosity. If you don't have any curiosity you better choose something else.”
“I'd like to continue researching cancer for a while so that this immunotherapy will help save more cancer patients than ever before.”
“Certain types of cancer patients are finally being cured thanks to immunotherapy.”
“Many people tried to find the therapy for cancer, but all failed. And myself, I never expected my research, working on the immune system, would lead to the cancer therapy.”
“It would encourage young researchers if we can show that there is a big return for good research.”
“Cancer has been the No. 1 cause of death during the last half-century. The trend is getting even worse as the average life span increases.”
“When we first isolated PD-1, we didn't know what the function of this molecule would be. But while we were working on it for almost 10 years, we realized this is a very important molecule to regulate the immune system.”
“I am 76 now. My biggest goal is to hit 76 in golf.”
“Donations from private sectors can be flexibly used and greatly appreciated, as they will give my research an outlook for a long period of time.”
“The concept of cancer immunotherapy was theoretically proposed by the Australian Nobel Laureate Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet over sixty years ago, and since then, a large number of people have tried to apply it, but without success.”
“Cancer immunotherapy is possible because we have a highly sophisticated immune system called 'acquired immunity,' which can catch small changes in tumor cells.”
“Doing research isn't simply about studying hard.”
“I hope this century will be remembered as the century of the cancer treatment. That's my hope.”
“When I'm thanked by patients who recover, I truly feel the significance of our research.”
“The FBRI will continue to carry out fundamental research mainly in fields where new medical treatments or medications are urgently required, such as cancer immunology, ageing and dementia.”
“The education of doctors is a major issue that needs to be addressed.”
“I received many prizes of course before the Nobel Prize and this is probably the last prize I get. But I felt when I see the patient and saying they were saved by the therapy we developed, that is the most moving, and also the time I feel my life has some meaning.”
“Reading papers and memorizing them doesn't make you a good researcher.”
“Curiosity is the most important.”