Hisashi Akiyama Appointed to Assistant Professor

Congratulations to Dr. Hisashi Akiyama on his appointment as an Assistant Professor! Although new to this role, Hisashi has already been a significant contributor to the VIM department. Since becoming a Research Assistant Professor in 2017, Hisashi has served as co-investigator on numerous projects in collaborations that span the university. He has also secured funding as a PI on an industry-funded collaborative project, an R21 grant award from NINDS, and most recently, an NIAID funded R01. Hisashi has an excellent publication record having published first author papers in numerous journals, including Nature Communications, Plos Pathogens, and Journal of Virology. He is also well recognized in his field, having been invited to give seminar presentations nationally and internationally, serving on NIH study sections, and serving as an ad hoc journal reviewer and as an editorial board member for multiple journals. Hisashi’s research spans two inter-related research areas: (i) focusing on how post-transcriptional modifications of HIV RNA affect innate immune activation, and (ii) examining how post-transcriptional modifications in RNA vaccines could help dampen innate immune responses to improve immunogenicity and reduce adverse effects. These areas are significant for our understanding of viruses and vaccine design and so Hisashi’s research and training work has the potential to directly impact human health. Hisashi has already elevated the research and education profile within VIM and so we are delighted that Hisashi has decided to become an assistant professor in our department and we wish him continued success.