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Nagamori Foundation held the Ninth Nagamori Awards Ceremony on Sunday, September 3, 2023 to honor the winners of the awards and the recipients of the research grant for 2023.
The ceremony was held at Hotel Okura Kyoto as the main venue, having the winners and the research grant recipients attending in person and was streamed live via Web to approximately 200 people including many academics, and those related to Nagamori Foundation.
After the presentations by the six award winners followed by the review from the members of Nagamori Foundation’s Review Committee, Dr. Nobuyuki Kurita, Associate Professor, Baylor College of Medicine/ Texas Children’s Hospital was chosen as the Grand Nagamori Award winner.
The ceremony began with Prof. Hori, the Review Committee’s Chair, explaining how the winners were selected, followed by the announcement of the Ninth Grand Nagamori Award Winner. Each winner received a commendation certificate and a prize trophy from Mr. Nagamori, President of Nagamori Foundation, and then representing the award winners, Professor Kurita delivered a speech to express the pleasure of receiving the Award. The next part of the ceremony was to present research grants (“Research Grant 2023”) to the 26 researchers, mostly associate or assistant professors (7 new and 19 renewal recipients).
Dr. Kenta Koiwa, Assistant Professor of Chiba University, gave a speech to appreciate the grant on behalf of all the grant recipients.
There was a special lecture from Dr. Nagahiro Minato, President of Kyoto University, on “Lessons Learned from a Long Career in Research”. Mr. FUJIWARA Akio, Vice Minister of Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology – Japan, gave a congratulatory address in person at the main venue, representing the guests. The ceremony ended in great success.
Dr. Nobuyuki Kurita
(Associate Professor, Department of Surgery, Baylor College of Medicine / Congenital Heart Surgery, Texas Children’s Hospital)
I am incredibly grateful to have received the 9th Grand Nagamori Award for my work in developing magnetic levitation technology to advance artificial heart research. This award highlights the significant role that magnetic levitation technology plays in improving the quality of lives of people with severe heart failure through artificial hearts.
I have researched this technology for over two decades and have been fortunate to work with distinguished professionals in this field, including the BiVACOR, magAssist, Texas Heart Institute, and Texas Children's Hospital. Furthermore, exchanging valuable information and constructive discussions with magnetic levitation technology researchers in Japan and worldwide have strongly encouraged my development as a researcher. I am grateful to the selection committee for recognizing my contributions and my mentors, colleagues, research collaborators, and family, who have supported me throughout my journey. This esteemed award is a humbling experience and a profound inspiration for me to continue pushing the boundaries of magnetic levitation technology to benefit severe heart failure patients. I am thrilled about the possibilities and significant impact our research may have on artificial hearts and the lives they can touch.
