Takayuki Asahara received his M. D. from Tokyo Medical College in 1984, and performed residencies in cardiology and emergency medicine. He worked as a research fellow in cardiology at the Tokyo Medical College Hospital from 1989 to 1993 before moving to a fellowship in cardiovascular research at St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Boston. He was appointed assistant professor at Tufts School of Medicine in 1995, and associate professor at the Tokai University Institute of Medical Sciences in 2000. In addition to his current position as CDB team leader, Asahara serves as director of Regenerative Medicine and Research at the Kobe Institute of Biomedical Research and Innovation, and Professor of Physiology at the Tokai University School of Medicine.