Asian College of Neuropsychopharmacology

In the Science Award of AsCNP 2025, there are two applicants for the Clinical Science category and two for the Basic Research category. After scoring by the Award Committee members, we are pleased to announce that Professor Takahiro Kato has won the Clinical Science Award, and Professor Tomoyuki Furuyashiki has won the Basic Science Award.

Prof. Kato is a world-leading researcher on hikikomori (pathological social withdrawal) and established the world’s first hikikomori research clinic at Kyushu University Hospital.
He also leads the Research on Asian Psychotropic Prescription Patterns (REAP) under the supervision of Prof. Shinfuku.
In addition, he developed a novel method to produce human blood monocyte-induced microglia-like (iMG) cells using two cytokines without genetic modification, which has been applied to many neuropsychiatric disorders.
Dr. Kato has published over 200 papers in international scientific journals and books, including more than 50 publications focused on hikikomori.
He is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Neuropsychiatry at the Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University. In April 2025, he will officially assume the role of Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychiatry at the Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo.
Furthermore, Dr. Kato was elected as the President-Elect of the Asian Federation of Psychiatric Associations (AFPA) for the term 2024–2026 in December 2024.

Prof. Furuyashiki is the Chair of the Division of Pharmacology at the Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine.
His research primarily focuses on neuroimmune signaling, a field that was largely unexplored in the early 2000s.
Dr. Furuyashiki was among the first to uncover the behavioral roles of innate immune molecules in inflammation, specifically prostaglandin E2 (PGE2).
He demonstrated that the PGE2-EP1 pathway mitigates the stress-related functions of prefrontal dopamine and revealed that social stress induces microglial PGE2 synthesis via neuron-derived endocannabinoids.
This work introduced the novel concept of neuron-microglia crosstalk in depressive behaviors. These findings also provided mechanistic support for clinical observations.
Currently, Prof. Furuyashiki is investigating the behavioral roles of neutrophils, which could offer new perspectives on brain-periphery interactions in stress and depression.
Furthermore, to link innate immune signaling to neural circuit reorganization, he visualized distinct neuronal responses to acute and chronic stress using whole-brain imaging and has begun identifying the pathways mediating the behavioral effects of stress.

Our President, Prof. Suresh Sundram will invite them to give a special lecture during the CINP-AsCNP 2025 Joint Congress in Melbourne.

Shih-Ku Lin,
Chair, Science Award Selection Committee

In the science award of AsCNP 2023, there are four applicants for the clinical field and one for the basic research field. After the scoringby the Award Committee, we are pleased to announce that Prof. Cheng-Ta Li has won the Clinical Science Award, and Prof. Gavin Stewart has won the Basic Science Award.

Prof. Cheng-Ta Li is a senior psychiatrist and an outstanding professor at National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan. Prof. Li has long been devoted to the field of treatment-resistant depression (TRD) and has published more than 200 SCI papers. He is ranked in the top 1% in the field of TRD with multidisciplinary expertise, according to the results of Expertscape (2011-2021).

Prof. Dawe is the Head of the Department of Pharmacology at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, as well as the Director of the Neuroscience and Metabolic Phenotyping Core at the National University of Singapore. Dr. Dawe has focused on the study of antipsychotics, antidepressants, anxiolytics, and modulators of cognitive function and neuroplasticity. His scientific work in animal models of schizophrenia, depression, anxiety, and dementia is outstanding and has consistently contributed to significant advancements in the field.

Our President, Tianmei Si, will invite them to give a special lecture during the AsCNP Congress Xi'an 2023.

Shih-Ku Lin,
Chair, Science Award Selection Committee

For the second Lundbeck Science Award, there are seven applicants for clinical and only one for basic research field. After the scoring from the Award Committee, we are pleased to announce that Prof Tadafumi Kato wins the Clinical Science and Prof Zhong Chen wins the basic Science Award. Prof Tadafumi Kato is the Head of Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine. Tokyo, Japan. Prof Kato has published more than 300 Peer-reviewed original research articles and his major research interest is in the field of neuropsychopharmacology of bipolar disorder. Prof Chen is the President of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, and also the Prof of School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China. He has published more than 250 Peer-reviewed original research articles and his major research interest is in the field of neural circuit basis & molecular mechanisms of epileptogenesis and the development of antiepileptic drugs and the roles of histamine and histamine receptors in neurological disorder and the involvement of autophagy. Our President Tan Chay Hoon will invite them to give a special lecture during AsCNP Congress Singapore 2021.

Shih-Ku Lin,
Chair, Lundbeck Science Award Committee