Noriko Osumi

is a Professor Emeritus and Visiting Professor at Tohoku University, where she served as the university's first female Vice President from 2018 to 2024. In 2025, she was appointed Executive Director of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS).

Education and career Osumi graduated from the School of Dentistry at Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) in 1985 and earned her PhD from the same institution in 1989. Her early research focused on craniofacial morphogenesis and the migration of neural crest cells.

After serving as an assistant professor at TMDU (1989–1996) and a group leader at the National Institute of Neuroscience, she joined Tohoku University in 1998 as the Graduate School of Medicine's first female full professor. In 2025, she was appointed as Executive Director of JSPS, while keeping her research activity as Professor Emeritus and Visiting Professor at Tohoku University. Her laboratory has conducted studies on the paternal age effect, investigating how epigenetic factors and sperm aging influence neurodevelopmental disorders.

Her work emphasizes paternal contributions to offspring health, a field she identifies as under-researched compared to maternal studies. She is also an associate member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO).

Awards and honors 1985: Nagao Award, Tokyo Medical & Dental University 2006: NISTEP Award, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) 2012: Associate Fellow, The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) 2022: Commendation for Science and Technology by the Minister of MEXT 2022: 4th Brilliant Female Researchers Award for Tohoku University (The Jun Ashida Award)

Selected publications