TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Edogawa Niche Prize 2018, jointly established by Nichi-In Centre for Regenerative Medicine (NCRM) and Edogawa Hospital, Tokyo, Japan will be awarded to Prof. James Till, Professor Emeritus, University of Toronto, Canada for his discovery of stem cells jointly with Prof. Ernest McCulloch in the 1960’s (www.edogawanicheprize.org).
The discovery of stem cells is considered as one of the most significant mile stones in Biological Sciences as it has helped save thousands of cancer patients through bone marrow transplantation and has heralded the birth of the Specialty of Regenerative Medicine which has given hope to patients with several diseases that don’t have a definitive solution.
NCRM is an Indo-Japan JV institute working on Regenerative medicine, a rapidly evolving field with contribution from various domains of science. NCRM NICHE (www.ncrmniche.org) is an inaugural commemorative academic event conducted every October, since 2006, which brings together various stakeholders of this specialty through the Fujio Cup Quiz -An active knowledge gaining event, from all over the world (Held India until 2016). During the XII NCRM NICHE in Tokyo in 2017, Dr Masahiro Katoh (Chairman, Edogawa Hospitals) announced the Edogawa NICHE prize establishment to honour physicians or scientists, who develop a novel healthcare solution that enables prevention or diagnosis or treatment of any disease, through an inter-disciplinary interaction among different fields of science.
The Jinsei-sha (Parent organization of Edogawa Hospitals) - NCRM joint committee, decided to honour Prof. James Till for his discovery of stem cells with the Edogawa NICHE prize in the first year of its establishment, which consists of a Medal, a Plaque and a cash reward of One Million Japanese yen.
The Edogawa Niche Prize 2018 was awarded to Prof. James Till in an Award ceremony in the University of Toronto, Canada by Prof. Gary Levy (Founding director, CIHR Transplant program) which will be videocasted during the NCRM NICHE 2018 held in Tokyo, Japan on the 21 October 2018.
Coming years, the Fujio Cup Quiz Elite scholars will have priority to nominate the Edogawa NICHE Prize recipients.