Tanaka Koichi

Tanaka Koichi is a renowned Japanese scientist, best known for his significant contributions to the field of analytical chemistry, particularly in mass spectrometry. Koichi currently serves as a Senior Fellow at Shimadzu Corporation, a global leader in analytical and measuring instruments. He is also an Executive Fellow at Kyoto University in Japan, where he continues to conduct research and share his expertise. Koichi's most notable research achievement is the development of the matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry technique, which revolutionized the analysis of biological macromolecules, such as proteins, nucleic acids, and polymers. This innovative technique, developed in the late 1980s, enabled scientists to accurately identify and analyze large, complex biomolecules without causing their degradation, thus opening new avenues for research in various fields, including proteomics, genomics, and drug discovery. In recognition of his groundbreaking work, Koichi received the prestigious Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2002, sharing the honor with John Bennett Fenn and Kurt Wüthrich. His other major awards include the Japan Academy Prize (2003), the Toray Science and Technology Prize (2002), and the Society for Chromatographic Sciences Award (2001).