
Researchers at The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo play a global role in understanding SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 and share their mission of contributing to saving the lives of people.
Publications
PLATINUM STREET TIMES:Public relation magazine of IMSUT
The special feature : Research on SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19. *only in Japanese
Tansei vol.41 2020.09:UTokyo's Official Magazine
*only in Japanese
Press Releases (Latest three releases)

August 23, 2022
Wastewater viral loads can provide advance warning of COVID-19 outbreaks
Joint Research with Hokkaido University and etc.:Professor IMOTO Seiya at the Division of Health Medical Intelligence
August 3, 2022
Cross-border transmissions of the Delta substrain AY.29 from Japan to the world during the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games: Identifying at least 55 independent strains in 20 countrie
Representative : Professor IMOTO Seiya at the Division of Health Medical Intelligence
February 3, 2022
Tracking SARS-CoV-2 during Tokyo 2020 via wastewater-Wastewater-based epidemiological tracking of COVID-19 in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic village showed that SARS-CoV-2 was present in areas without diagnosed individuals-
Joint Research with Hokkaido University and etc.:Professor IMOTO Seiya at the Division of Health Medical Intelligence
Scientific Papers (Latest three papers)
Humoral immune evasion of the omicron subvariants BQ.1.1 and XBB
Lancet Infectious Diseases (online) December 7, 2022
doi:10.1016/S1473-3099(22)00816-7
Ryuta Uraki*, Mutsumi Ito*, Yuri Furusawa*, Seiya Yamayoshi, Kiyoko Iwatsuki-Horimoto, Eisuke Adachi, Makoto Saito, Michiko Koga, Takeya Tsutsumi, Shinya Yamamoto, Amato Otani, Maki Kiso, Yuko Sakai-Tagawa, Hiroshi Ueki, Hiroshi Yotsuyanagi, Masaki Imai, and Yoshihiro Kawaoka¶
*:First author
¶:Corresponding author
Efficacy of Antiviral Agents against Omicron BQ.1.1 and XBB Subvarians
New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) (online) December 7, 2022
doi:10.1056/NEJMc2214302
Masaki Imai*, Mutsumi Ito*, Maki Kiso*, Seiya Yamayoshi*, Ryuta Uraki, Shuetsu Fukushi, Shinji Watanabe, Tadaki Suzuki, Ken Maeda, Yuko Sakai-Tagawa, Kiyoko Iwatsuki-Horimoto, Peter Halfmann, Yoshihiro Kawaoka¶
*:First author
¶:Corresponding author
In Vitro Efficacy of Antiviral Agents against the Omicron Subvariant BA.4.6
New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) (online) November 16, 2022
doi:10.1056/NEJMc2211845
Emi Takashita*, Seiya Yamayoshi*, Peter Halfmann, Nancy Wilson, Hunter Ries, Alex Richardson, Max Bobholz, William Vuyk, Robert Maddox, David A. Baker, Thomas C. Friedrich, David H. O’Connor, Ryuta Uraki, Mutsumi Ito, Yuko Sakai-Tagawa, Eisuke Adachi, Makoto Saito, Michiko Koga, Takeya Tsutsumi, Kiyoko Iwatsuki-Horimoto, Maki Kiso, Hiroshi Yotsuyanagi, Shinji Watanabe, Hideki Hasegawa, Masaki Imai, Yoshihiro Kawaoka¶
*:First author
¶:Corresponding author
Research Support Information
AMED Research Projects on COVID-19https://www.amed.go.jp/en/program/list/11/02/002_covid-19.html
■Diagnosis
FY2020
Project Title:Precision and portable diagnostics for viruses with new genome editing technology
Principal Investigator:Senior Assistant Professor YOSHIMI Kazuto at the Division of Animal Genetics
■Therapeutics
FY2020
Project Title:Studies to Control Emerging, Re-emerging and Imported Infectious Diseases to Be Conducted in International Collaboration Sites in China
Principal Investigator:Professor KAWAGUCHI Yasushi at the Research Center for Asian Infectious Diseases
FY2020
Project Title:Establishment of the antibody therapy against novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
Principal Investigator:Professor KAWAOKA Yoshihiro at the Division of Virology
■Vaccine
FY2019
Project Title:Study on the control of a novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV)
Principal Investigator:Professor KAWAOKA Yoshihiro at the Division of Virology
FY2020
Project Title:Development of a live attenuated vaccine against COVID-19
Principal Investigator:Professor KAWAOKA Yoshihiro at the Division of Virology
FY2020
Project Title:Development of a live attenuated vaccine against COVID-19 II
Principal Investigator:Professor KAWAOKA Yoshihiro at the Division of Virology
■Scientific Research on COVID-19
FY2020
Project Title:Investigation of the biological principle of the pathogenicity and cross-species transmission of emerging virus infections including SARS-CoV-2
Principal Investigator:Associate Professor SATO Kei at the Division of Systems Virology
FY2020
Project Title:Antibody response against SARS-CoV-2 infection and serosurveillance
Principal Investigator:Project Associate Professor YAMAYOSHI Seiya at Research Center for Asian Infectious Diseases