Employee Story | Taka Takebe, MD, PhD

I'm Takanori Takebe, Director for Commercial Innovation at the Center for Stem Cell & Organoid Medicine. I'm a medical researcher and trained in the medical school back in Japan. So, after medical school,
I spent three years in Japan. Then, I took a faculty job in Cincinnati Children's, which was spectacular for me. I was originally trained as a transplant surgeon, but I switched my career. What I saw there was patients that are just waiting to die because of donor shortage. So, we want to make a difference by growing human organoid for the transplantation. I just wanted to try to help kids. I published a paper in 2013 where we reported the creation of first version of miniature liver tissues. Organoid technology really opened up a new way to potentially help save the children. We can create a healthy organ materials like hearts or livers from the stem cells that can be implanted in the body of the diseased kids. So, that's pretty game changing technologies. I have dual appointment, where I split the time between Japan and U.S. I do basic research in Cincinnati Children’s trying to create new platform, new technologies. In Japan, I have many friends, industry partners, commercial partners. They can scale up the processes, they can commercialize the processes. So, both of the processes are truly, you know, complementary and essential to bringing the new technology into the clinic. I'm trying to recruit internationally because I really saw the power of diversity in building a new, exciting program. Looking from a different angle is the only solution to be better. Having real diversity is so important. Collaboration is driven by different belief, different culture, and different ways of thinking. Stem cell organoid stuff is quite exciting. Cincinnati Children’s obviously is one of the top children's hospital in the world. We have lots of international experts
who is collaboratively trying to create the new, different part of the organ body. Saving the lives is such a tremendous job to me. It’s truly my honor.