Yuma YAMADA, Professor

Date of Birth: July. 17, 1979
Nationality: Japan

Present Position

  • Professor in the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hokkaido University, Japan.
  • Pharmacist in the Department of Pharmacy, Hokkaido University Hospital, Japan.
  • Principal Investigator in the Hokkaido University’s Industry Creation Laboratories, Japan.
  • Scientific Adviser in the LUCA Science Inc., Japan.
  • FOREST program researcher, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Japan.

Professional Experience and Education

  • 2003.3 Completion of Bachelor degree, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmacy, Hokkaido University, Japan.
  • 2005.3 Completion of Master degree, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hokkaido University, Japan.
  • 2005.4 Entrance into the Ph. D course, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hokkaido University, Japan.
  • 2006.4-2006.12 Japan Society for Promotion of Science (JSPS) Research Fellowships for Young Scientists [DC2]
  • 2007.1-2008.9 Instructor, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hokkaido University, Japan.
  • 2008.9. Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hokkaido University, Japan.
  • 2008.10-2016.3 Assistant professor, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hokkaido University, Japan.
  • 2009.4- present Pharmacist in the Department of Pharmacy, Hokkaido University Hospital, Japan.
  • 2016.4-2023.3 Associate professor, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hokkaido University, Japan.
  • 2019.4- present Scientific Adviser, LUCA Science Inc., Japan.
  • 2020.4- present Principal Investigator, Hokkaido University’s Industry Creation Laboratories (Laboratory for Biological Drug Development based on DSS Technology), Japan.
  • 2021.4- present FOREST program researcher, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Japan.
  • 2023.4- present Professor, Laboratory for Molecular Design of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hokkaido University, Japan.

Awards and Honors

  • NINA PHARM Award from the 2nd World Congress on Targeting Mitochondria, 2011
  • The Pharmaceutical Society of Japan Award for Young Scientists, 2014.
  • The Academy of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology, Japan (APSTJ) Award for Young Scientists, 2014.
  • Young Researcher’s Award of the Japan Society of Drug Delivery System, 2015.
  • The Society for Free Radical Research (SFRR) Japan Young Investigator Award, 2018.
  • The Nucleic Acids Therapeutics Society of Japan (NatsJ) Award for Young Scientists, 2018.
  • Ebert Prize Award -the oldest existing pharmacy award in the US- from American Pharmacists Association, 2022.
  • The Academy of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology, Japan (APSTJ) Asahi Kasei Pharmaceutical Technology Award, 2023.

Ten selected publications out of 147

¶ equal contribution, *Corresponding author

  1. Sasaki D, Abe J, Takeda A, Harashima H, Yamada Y¶, *, Transplantation of MITO cells, mitochondria activated cardiac progenitor cells, to the ischemic myocardium of mouse enhances the therapeutic effect. Sci. Rep. 12: 4344 (2022). International co-authored paper, Research Press Release
  2. Satrialdi, Takano Y, Hirata E, Ushijima N, Harashima H, Yamada Y, The effective in vivo mitochondrial-targeting nanocarrier combined with a π-extended porphyrin-type photosensitizer. Nanoscale Advances 3: 5919-5927 (2021). International co-authored paper, Research Press Release
  3. Kawamura E¶, Maruyama M, Abe J, Sudo A, Takeda A, Takada S, Yokota T, Kinugawa S, Harashima H, Yamada Y¶*, Validation of gene therapy for mutant mitochondria by delivering mitochondrial RNA using a MITO-Porter, a liposome-based nano device. Mol. Ther. – Nuceic Acids 20: 687-698 (2020). Independent clinical research
  4. Yamada Y, Somiya K, Miyauchi A, Osaka H, Harashima H, Validation of a mitochondrial RNA therapeutic strategy using fibroblasts from a Leigh syndrome patient with a mutation in the mitochondrial ND3 gene. Sci. Rep. 10: 7511 (2020). Independent clinical research
  5. Yamada Y*, Satrialdi, Hibino M, Sasaki D, Jiro A, Harashima H. Power of mitochondrial drug delivery systems to produce innovative nanomedicines. Adv. Drug. Deliv. Rev. 154-155： 187-209 (2020). International co-authored paper
  6. Abe J, Yamada Y¶, Takeda A, Harashima H*. Cardiac progenitor cells activated by mitochondrial delivery of resveratrol enhance the survival of a doxorubicin-induced cardiomyopathy mouse model via the mitochondrial activation of a damaged myocardium. J Control. Release 269: 177-188 (2018).
  7. Ishikawa T, Somiya K, Munechika R, Harashima H, Yamada Y¶,*. Mitochondrial transgene expression via an artificial mitochondrial DNA vector in cells from a patient with a mitochondrial disease. J Control Release 274: 109-117 (2018).
  8. Yamada Y, Ishikawa T, Harashima H*. Validation of the use of an artificial mitochondrial reporter DNA vector containing a Cytomegalovirus promoter for mitochondrial transgene expression. Biomaterials 136: 56-66 (2017).
  9. Furukawa R, Yamada Y¶, Kawamura E, Harashima H*. Mitochondrial delivery of antisense RNA by MITO-Porter results in mitochondrial RNA knockdown, and has a functional impact on mitochondria. Biomaterials 57: 107-115 (2015).
  10. Yamada Y, Nakamura K, Abe J, Hyodo M, Haga S, Ozaki M, Harashima H. Mitochondrial delivery of Coenzyme Q10 via systemic administration using a MITO-Porter prevents ischemia/reperfusion injury in the mouse liver. J Control Release 213: 86-95 (2015).

Five selected invited lectures out of 97

  1. Yamada Y, Harashima H. Mito-porter, A Mitochondrial Dds Towards An Innovative Therapy. Rising Suns from Japanese Society of Drug Delivery System. 2020 Annual Meeting & Exposition of the Controlled Release Society. June. 30, 2020, USA (WEB).
  2. Yamada Y, Harashima H. MITO-Porter, a cutting-edge mitochondrial DDS. Pharmaceutical Society of Korea 2020. Oct. 21-23, 2020, Korea (WEB).
  3. Yamada Y. The way to develop an innovative nanomedicine targeting mitochondria. Host Madsen Medal winner 2021 ceremony. Sep. 15, 2021, WEB.
  4. Yamada Y, Harashima H. Targeting mitochondria: innovation of mitochondrial drug delivery system (DDS) to mitochondrial medicine. Session 2: Pre-clinical mitochondrial diseae models. Mitochondrial Medicine -Therapeutic Development. Nov. 30, 2021, UK (WEB).
  5. Yamada Y, Targeting Mitochondria Based on Mitochondrial Drug Delivery Systems (DDS). 14th edition of the World Congress on Targeting Mitochondria 2023 (Oct. 11-13, 2023, Steigenberger Hotel Am Kanzleramt, Berlin, Germany)

Out reach

  • 2011.4.29-5.4 Pharmacist of the Disaster Medical Assistance Team from Hokkaido University Hospital for the Great East Japan Earthquake.
  • 2020.3.2-5.31 Crowd funding campaign for “Cancer therapy by technology to deliver drugs to abnormal mitochondria” (https://readyfor.jp/projects/MITO-Porter). [Fundraised amount, 10 million JPY]