Dr. Yoshihiko Goto (formerly a graduate student in our laboratory and currently a physician in the Department of Respiratory Medicine, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University) has been selected as the Runner-up for the Best Paper Award 2025 at the Kumamoto Campus of the Joint Research Center for Human Retrovirus Infection!

In an international collaborative study with Prof. Stephanie Gras and her colleagues at La Trobe University, Australia, Dr. Goto and her collaborators elucidated functional HLA-C-restricted T-cell responses and the molecular mechanisms underlying their recognition during SARS-CoV-2 infection. This work was published in Nature Communications in 2025.

Following Dr. Goto’s example, two graduate students from the Department of Respiratory Medicine, Dr. Tajima and Dr. Tokunaga, are currently pursuing basic research in our laboratory. Dr. Goto has become an inspiring role model for physician-scientists! We look forward to her continued success in the future!

The link to the Center’s website is provided below.
https://kumamoto-u-jrchri.jp/post-2741