Dr. Yoshihiro Kawaoka is awarded the Medal with Purple Ribbon

Dr. Yoshihiro Kawaoka, Professor, Division of Virology, Head of the International Research Center for Infectious Diseases of IMSUT, received this spring's Medal with Purple Ribbon, which is awarded by the Japanese government. Normally, award winners for spring are announced in April, but this year's announcement was delayed due to the earthquake. The Medal with Purple Ribbon is awarded to individuals who have made outstanding contributions in academic fields. The award is a tremendous recognition of his work, which extends from basic research to applied research with such topics as the development of vaccines and clinical research in the field of virology. He not only made important discoveries in each of his works but also led the field and made big contributions toward efforts worldwide to control influenza.