Moriya Tsuji (born January 1, 1958, Tokyo, Japan) is an American Immunologist and Vaccinologist.

Moriya Tsuji
BornJanuary 1, 1958
NationalityAmerican
Alma materJikei University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan; University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
Scientific career
FieldsImmunology, Microbiology, Oncology, Vaccinology
InstitutionsColumbia University, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center
Doctoral advisorTomio Tada

As of 2024, Tsuji serves as the Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, and at Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, Columbia University Irving Medical Center. [1] [2]

Early life and education edit

Tsuji was born on January 1, 1958 in Tokyo, Japan. During his childhood, Tsuji spent a year at the Ecole Primaire d'Application Michelet in Lille, France, where his father Moriyasu Tsuji worked as a visiting scientist in the laboratory of André Capron at Pasteur Institute, Lille in 1966.

He ranked at the top of his class during his one year in that school. Tsuji moved to New York City in 1987 after obtaining his Ph.D. and later became a citizen of the United States. Tsuji earned his Doctor of Medicine at the Jikei University School of Medicine in Tokyo. [3]

Four years later, he was awarded his Doctor of Philosophy from the Department of Immunology at the University of Tokyo, in 1987 under the advisory of Professor Tomio Tada. [4]

Career edit

Immediately after obtaining Doctor of Medicine in Japan, Tsuji joined the Department of Medical and Molecular Parasitology headed by Dr. Ruth Sonntag Nussenzweig at New York University School of Medicine in 1987.  He was appointed to an Assistant professor at the Department of Medical and Molecular Parasitology at NYU School of Medicine in 1991. [5]

In 1998, Tsuji was awarded a tenure with an Associate Professorship in the same department.  After taking a sabbatical at the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center headed by David Ho from 2002 to 2003, Tsuji joined the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center as an Associate Professor and Staff Investigator.  Tsuji was promoted to Aaron Diamond Professor at Rockefeller University in 2012.  [5]

Tsuji moved to Columbia, South Carolina and became a Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, as well as in the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons[6]

Tsuji has been a Visiting Professor at Chiba University, Japan, and the Jikei University School of Medicine in Tokyo, Japan.  

As a teacher edit

Tsuji began his teaching career in 1992. His first assignment was for medical students at the New York University School of Medicine in Parasitology course.  He has also served as a lecturer on Immunology for undergraduate and graduate students at New York University School of Medicine. [7]

In 1997, he served at the Federal University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil, as a lecturer on Immunology for graduate students. Between 1998 and 2000, Tsuji served as a lecturer on Immunology for graduate students and scientists at the University of Bamako, Bamako, Mali.

Research edit

Tsuji's major research interests have been; 1) development of a glycolipid-based adjuvant for vaccines against infectious diseases and cancers, 2) Exploration of natural Killer T-cell-mediated protection against infectious diseases and cancers, and 3) Generation of "humanized mice” model mounting human immune system (HIS). [8]

Major assignments edit

Tsuji served as a Panel Member for the Vaccine Science Portfolio Advisory Council (VSPAC) of the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative of the Gates Foundation from 2008 to 2012, an Advisory Member for the Malaria Vaccine Consultation Group (MVCG) of the NIAID/NIH, from 2010 to 2012.

He has been an International Advisory Member for International Immunological Memory and Vaccine Forum (IIMVF) since 2015.

For the grant review, Dr. Tsuji has been a Founding Roster Member for the Immunity and Host Defense (IHD) study section of the NIAID/NIH since 2004. [9] [10]

Scientific achievements edit

Tsuji has published over 150 peer review papers in journals such as Nature (journal), Nature Medicine, Nature Communications, the Journal of Experimental Medicine, the Journal of Clinical Investigation and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. [9]

As a postdoctoral fellow at NYU School of Medicine, Tsuji broke new ground in uncovering the protective role of CD4+ T cells and gamma-delta T cells, against the liver stage of rodent malaria.  The discovery of the role of gamma-delta T cells in anti-malaria immunity was achieved in collaboration with Susumu Tonegawa’s laboratory at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. [11] [12]

Soon afterwards, Tsuji expanded his research to the field of malaria vaccine development, particularly, the development of viral vector-based malaria vaccines that can elicit a potent protective CD8+ T-cell response. He responsible for identifying for the first time adenovirus as an excellent vector for inducing CD8+ T cell-mediated immunity. [13]

Tsuji identified a CD1d-binding natural killer T (NKT)-cell stimulatory glycolipid, 7DW8-5, as a superb adjuvant capable of enhancing CD8+ T cell response induced by various vaccines [4-7]  7DW8-5 glycolipid has also been shown to prevent respiratory virus infections upon intranasal administration in mice. [14]

Tsuji’s team successfully isolated CD4+ T-cell clones which recognize the carbohydrate and have named such carbohydrate-specific CD4+ T cells, “Tcarb”.  This was done in collaboration with Dennis Kasper’s group at Harvard University. His discovery of Tcarb has not only impacted on the current paradigm of basic T cell biology, but has also led to radical advancements in glycoconjugate-based vaccine development. [15] [16]

Tsuji’s team has also succeeded in establishing a humanized mouse model that mimics human immune system (HIS), called HIS mice.  These HIS mice are able to possess functional human CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, NKT cells and dendritic cells, and can mount cell-mediated immunity upon immunization with various vaccines that include a malaria vaccine. [17] [18] [19] [20]

Awards and recognition edit

Tsuji was awarded a New York University Whitehead Presidential Award for Junior Faculty and American Cancer Society Institutional Award in 1993.  

Tsuji was also awarded American Lung Association of New York State Research Award and Mizutani Foundation for Glycoscience Award in 1996 and 2004, respectively. [2]

In 2021, Tsuji has been elected to the Fellow of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (FASTMH). [21]

His work was recognized, as “A Special Themed Issue Dedicated to Professor Moriya Tsuji” in Innovative Immunology was edited in Biomolecules (journal) in 2003. [22]

References edit

  1. ^ "Moriya Tsuji, MD, PhD". Infectious Diseases. 2020-05-11. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
  2. ^ a b "Moriya Tsuji, MD, PhD". Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center (ADARC). 2020-09-11. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
  3. ^ "Dr. Colomer Gould and Dr. Tsuji". The New York Times. 1993-07-12. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
  4. ^ Gellene, Denise (2010-05-02). "Tomio Tada, Influential Immunologist and Author of Japanese Plays, Dies at 76". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
  5. ^ a b "Moriya Tsuji, MD, PhD". Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center (ADARC). 2020-09-11. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
  6. ^ "Moriya Tsuji, MD, PhD". Infectious Diseases. 2020-05-11. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
  7. ^ "Dr. Colomer Gould and Dr. Tsuji". The New York Times. 1993-07-12. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
  8. ^ "Tsuji Lab". Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center (ADARC). 2020-09-17. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
  9. ^ a b "ORCID". orcid.org. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
  10. ^ "Moriya Tsuji, MD, PhD". Infectious Diseases. 2020-05-11. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
  11. ^ Tsuji, M.; Romero, P.; Nussenzweig, R. S.; Zavala, F. (1990-11-01). "CD4+ cytolytic T cell clone confers protection against murine malaria". The Journal of Experimental Medicine. 172 (5): 1353–1357. doi:10.1084/jem.172.5.1353. ISSN 0022-1007. PMC 2188671. PMID 2146361.
  12. ^ Tsuji, M; Mombaerts, P; Lefrancois, L; Nussenzweig, R S; Zavala, F; Tonegawa, S (1994-01-04). "Gamma delta T cells contribute to immunity against the liver stages of malaria in alpha beta T-cell-deficient mice". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 91 (1): 345–349. Bibcode:1994PNAS...91..345T. doi:10.1073/pnas.91.1.345. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 42944. PMID 8278391.
  13. ^ Rodrigues, E. G.; Zavala, F.; Eichinger, D.; Wilson, J. M.; Tsuji, M. (1997-02-01). "Single immunizing dose of recombinant adenovirus efficiently induces CD8+ T cell-mediated protective immunity against malaria". Journal of Immunology (Baltimore, Md.: 1950). 158 (3): 1268–1274. doi:10.4049/jimmunol.158.3.1268. ISSN 0022-1767. PMID 9013969.
  14. ^ Tsuji, Moriya; Nair, Manoj S.; Masuda, Kazuya; Castagna, Candace; Chong, Zhenlu; Darling, Tamarand L.; Seehra, Kuljeet; Hwang, Youngmin; Ribeiro, Ágata Lopes; Ferreira, Geovane Marques; Corredor, Laura; Coelho-Dos-Reis, Jordana Grazziela Alves; Tsuji, Yukiko; Mori, Munemasa; Boon, Adrianus C. M. (2023-07-05). "An immunostimulatory glycolipid that blocks SARS-CoV-2, RSV, and influenza infections in vivo". Nature Communications. 14 (1): 3959. Bibcode:2023NatCo..14.3959T. doi:10.1038/s41467-023-39738-1. ISSN 2041-1723. PMC 10319732. PMID 37402814.
  15. ^ Avci, Fikri Y.; Li, Xiangming; Tsuji, Moriya; Kasper, Dennis L. (2011-11-20). "A mechanism for glycoconjugate vaccine activation of the adaptive immune system and its implications for vaccine design". Nature Medicine. 17 (12): 1602–1609. doi:10.1038/nm.2535. ISSN 1546-170X. PMC 3482454. PMID 22101769.
  16. ^ Avci, Fikri Y.; Li, Xiangming; Tsuji, Moriya; Kasper, Dennis L. (December 2012). "Isolation of carbohydrate-specific CD4(+) T cell clones from mice after stimulation by two model glycoconjugate vaccines". Nature Protocols. 7 (12): 2180–2192. doi:10.1038/nprot.2012.138. ISSN 1750-2799. PMC 4133772. PMID 23196974.
  17. ^ Huang, Jing; Li, Xiangming; Coelho-dos-Reis, Jordana G. A.; Wilson, James M.; Tsuji, Moriya (2014). "An AAV vector-mediated gene delivery approach facilitates reconstitution of functional human CD8+ T cells in mice". PLOS ONE. 9 (2): e88205. Bibcode:2014PLoSO...988205H. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0088205. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 3916402. PMID 24516613.
  18. ^ Huang, Jing; Li, Xiangming; Coelho-dos-Reis, Jordana G A; Zhang, Min; Mitchell, Robert; Nogueira, Raquel Tayar; Tsao, Tiffany; Noe, Amy R; Ayala, Ramses; Sahi, Vincent; Gutierrez, Gabriel M; Nussenzweig, Victor; Wilson, James M; Nardin, Elizabeth H; Nussenzweig, Ruth S (2015-12-01). "Human immune system mice immunized with Plasmodium falciparum circumsporozoite protein induce protective human humoral immunity against malaria". Journal of Immunological Methods. 427: 42–50. doi:10.1016/j.jim.2015.09.005. ISSN 1872-7905. PMID 26410104.
  19. ^ Li, Xiangming; Huang, Jing; Zhang, Min; Funakoshi, Ryota; Sheetij, Dutta; Spaccapelo, Roberta; Crisanti, Andrea; Nussenzweig, Victor; Nussenzweig, Ruth S.; Tsuji, Moriya (2016-08-31). "Human CD8+ T cells mediate protective immunity induced by a human malaria vaccine in human immune system mice". Vaccine. 34 (38): 4501–4506. doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2016.08.006. ISSN 1873-2518. PMC 5009892. PMID 27502569.
  20. ^ Lee, Yoke Seng; O'Brien, Liam J.; Walpole, Carina M.; Pearson, Frances E.; Leal-Rojas, Ingrid M.; Masterman, Kelly-Anne; Atkinson, Victoria; Barbour, Andrew; Radford, Kristen J. (2021). "Human CD141+ dendritic cells (cDC1) are impaired in patients with advanced melanoma but can be targeted to enhance anti-PD-1 in a humanized mouse model". Journal for Immunotherapy of Cancer. 9 (3): e001963. doi:10.1136/jitc-2020-001963. ISSN 2051-1426. PMC 7978242. PMID 33737342.
  21. ^ "ASTMH - Fellows of ASTMH (FASTMH)". www.astmh.org. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
  22. ^ "Biomolecules". www.mdpi.com. Retrieved 2024-03-11.