iCeMS Professor Akihiro Kusumi selected as council member of the American Society for Cell Biology

iCeMS Professor Akihiro Kusumi selected as council member of the American Society for Cell Biology

August 26, 2010


iCeMS Professor and CeMI Director
Akihiro Kusumi

The American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) announced in its July ASCB Newsletter that Professor Akihiro Kusumi of the Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS) has been selected as one of its council members. The term is three years, starting in January 2011, and the council consists of 12 members, including the other three newly elected members: Dr. David Botstein, Dr. James Sabry, and Dr. Yixian Zheng.

Based in Maryland, U.S., the ASCB was founded in 1960 to promote and develop the field of cell biology. Among the approximately 10,000 members are many renowned scientists such as Professor Carol W. Greider (2009 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine) and Martin Chalfie (2008 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry). Around 25% of ASCB members are from outside the United States (more than 65 countries).

Professor Kusumi developed the method for single-molecule observation and tracking of receptors and signal molecules in plasma membrane of living cells, and is applying this method to research topics such as "The mechanism of cellular signal transduction" and "How activity-dependent remodeling of neuronal network occurs." When, for the first time in the world, Professor Kusumi succeeded in filming the movement of protein within the plasma membrane at resolutions of microseconds and nanometers, Nature magazine (February 17, 2005 issue) devoted three pages to featuring his research. He and his team are currently working on developing new meso-bio single-molecule imaging techniques, elucidating the mechanisms of the function of plasma membrane and laying the groundwork for future nano-meso tissue engineering.

Prof. Kusumi, who also serves as director of the iCeMS' Center for Meso-Bio Single-Molecule Imaging (CeMI), welcomes his new assignment as an ASCB council member.

"ASCB was established to provide a platform for cross-disciplinary research by specialists in physics, chemistry and biology, to understand the mechanisms of cell functions. This is why the ASCB is one of my favorite academic societies. It is my great pleasure to contribute to the further development of this organization, and moreover, aim to serve as a liaison between the ASCB's international members and the Council, since there have been some cases where non-American scientists, despite their relatively large percentage, have had difficulties in having their voices heard.”