RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology’s Senior Advisor, Dr. Masatoshi Takeichi (Team Leader, Laboratory for Cell Adhesion and Tissue Patterning; former CDB Center Director), has been elected as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

The AAAS is an international non-profit organization that strives to advance science, technology and innovation for the benefit of society through initiatives in science policy and promotion of scientific literacy, in addition to publishing the journal Science. The appointment of AAAS Fellows has a long history, dating back to 1874, and is an honor conferred to members by their peers to recognize their significant contributions to advance science from scientific or social avenues.

Dr. Takeichi was recognized for his distinguished contributions to the field of neuroscience. He identified the cell adhesion molecule, cadherin, in animals in 1982, and later uncovered that there are multiple subtypes of cadherin, which makes it possible for cells to selectively bind to other cells depending on the type of cadherin expressed. Cadherins have since been identified as being essential for the dynamic processes of tissue formation as well as being implicated in cell proliferation and motility through cell adhesion-derived signals. Dr. Takeichi has also been working to understand the role of cadherins in the formation of neural synapses.

The award ceremony will be held during the AAAS 2015 Annual Meeting scheduled next year in February.