~ A message from the AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Council ~ Dr. Nori Kurata has been nominated and voted as the 2011 AAAS Fellow by the AAAS Council for distinguished contributions in traditional and modern rice genetics and genomics, and for contributions in the field of rice breeding. The tradition of AAAS Fellows began in 1874. The 2011 AAAS Fellows will be announced in the AAAS News & Notes section of the 23 December 2011 issue of Science. New Fellows will be presented with an official certificate and a gold and blue (representing science and engineering, respectively) rosette pin on Saturday, 18 February, at the AAAS Fellows Forum during the 2012 AAAS Annual Meeting. Plant Genetics Laboratory, Kurata Group

Hiromi Hirata, Associate Professor of Motor Neural Circuit Laboratory, received the 2011 Young Investigator Award from the Japanese Biochemical Society. This prize is awarded to young scientists who conducted pioneering and original scientific works. Hiromi Hirata was awarded for his research on the formation of the nervous system and muscle during motor development.

Motor Neural Circuit Laboratory HIRATA, Hiromi laboratory

Scientists’ Prize from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan. The Ministry has announced the recipients on 2pm, April 11th (Japan time). This prize is awarded to young Japanese scientists who conducted pioneering and original scientific works. Jun Kitano is awarded for his research on the genetic mechanisms underlying the evolution of biodiversity in sticklebacks.
Ecological Genetics Laboratory , Kitano Laboratory

Dr. Tatsuo Fukagawa (Division of Molecular Genetics) was appointed Associate Editor on the Editorial Board of Chromosome Research, an international publisher of academic and research journals. An article was published online on February 8th, 2011, announcing this appointment and also introducing Dr. Fukagawa and his career, and research achievements in his research field of “Structure and function of chromosomes in higher vertebrate cells”. The article also refers to activities of NIG and SOKENDAI. Chromosome Research: DOI: 10.1007/s10577-011-9189-4 (Published Online: 8th February 2011)