Breaking New Ground in Biomarker Testing.
PhD in Engineering
Manager, SPFS Development, Bio Systems Development Group
Bio Advanced Technology Division, Corporate R&D Headquarters,
Konica Minolta, Inc.
Takatoshi Kaya
Embarking on in vitro diagnostics: Pioneering new fields, breaking new ground.
By the time Dr. Kaya finished graduate school, Japan was in the so-called “employment ice age.” He had a hard time finding a job related to the research that he had done. He explains, “In the end, a mid-term recruitment opportunity came up, I applied, and was employed by a manufacturer of in vitro diagnostics. It was a field that I hadn't studied in depth, but they taught me starting with the fundamentals, and I was able to acquire the necessary knowledge.” Having worked there for three years, he increasingly wanted to get involved with product development based on a new technology, rather than using only the existing technologies, so decided to change his workplace. He joined Konica Minolta, Inc. because, in his interview, he felt that he would be able to work on technological development there, which was what he had been looking for. The company was the result of a merger between Konica and Minolta which were originally film and camera companies. Even after withdrawing from their founding businesses of cameras and photographs, they are making great advancements in developing their office services and health care businesses using core technologies they have cultivated for many years. Dr. Kaya was assigned to the Life Science Technology Project of the research and development department. On his second day with the company, he was told to go on a business trip to Kyoto the following day, and so went to the Institute for Frontier Medical Sciences at Kyoto University. He then became involved in the technological development of a prototype device that finds specific proteins with high sensitivity for Surface Plasmon field-enhanced Fluorescence Spectroscopy (SPFS). He recalls, “In a company, you can't accomplish technological development all by yourself. Most technologies are established by developing them in collaboration with universities and research institutes. For months, I stayed at a hotel in Kyoto, and frequented the Iwata Lab of the Institute for Frontier Medical Sciences at Kyoto University, immersing myself in the technological development of SPFS.”
Opening new doors for a biomarker measuring system.
Development of the SPFS prototype device was progressing smoothly, and as the scale of the project gradually expanded, Dr. Kaya was suddenly transferred to a team developing new testing systems for prostate cancer biomarkers. Prostate cancer is currently diagnosed by testing for prostate-specific antigen (PSA), an enzyme secreted by the prostate gland. But this project is trying to develop a testing/measuring system that targets the glycan on the surface of a PSA for an even more precise diagnosis. A glycan is a combination of protein and fat that undergoes a specific change in structure when cancer cells appear. The technology that detects short glycans was already established thirty years ago, but the technological development for long glycans hadn't progressed since. Dr. Kaya thought of developing a testing/measuring system that could clearly distinguish between the presence or absence of cancer and other related diseases through this technology that easily determines the quantity of long, complex glycans. He says, “Our team developed a system that automatically measured glycans on PSA through SPFS technology. With just a blood test, both PSA and glycans can be detected and quantified at once. The obstacles for cancer testing are expected to significantly reduce with this groundbreaking system. There will be people out there anxiously waiting for this. This technology would greatly contribute to early detection of prostate cancer if it were to be commercialized and became commonly available.”
Researching with purpose.
Dr. Kaya works hard at research every day. Now in his forties, he is both a team player and a manager that nurtures his team. Even though he feels gradual changes in his role, his ultimate goal remains unchanged. He says, “Research for the sake of research is meaningless. My wish to be ultimately useful to the world has remained the same since my student days at Tohoku University. Of course, I still approach issues that arise during my research with the same straightforward inquisitiveness: “How does this phenomenon occur, what kind of experiments are needed” – I can't go forward without the kind of inquisitiveness that seeks to know and pin down the true nature of things. But behind the buildup of research, I ask myself: what am I researching for? At my core, I have the desire to create things that are ultimately useful to society. That's because the goal of research in a corporate entity is not merely a search for the truth, but turning research results into products in order to release them to the world. While there are many difficulties, the rewards are also great.” His immediate goal is to commercialize the biomarker measuring system he is working on, and to make it available to society. He also wants each young member of his team to be number one in their respective field of expertise. He says, “One of the things I learned at the lab in Tohoku University is that research and people are both essential. I still like seeing how my juniors are growing. Even if I don't achieve my goals, I'll be okay with just leaving something for the people after me. Nonetheless, I'd like to see this biomarker measuring system released into the medical field and prove its usefulness to people. I’m not done yet, at all.”
PhD in Engineering
Manager, SPFS Development, Bio Systems Development Group
Bio Advanced Technology Division, Corporate R&D Headquarters,
Konica Minolta, Inc.
Takatoshi Kaya
Dr. Takatoshi Kaya was born in Toyama Prefecture, Japan. He graduated from Ibaraki Prefectural Takezono High School before entering the School of Engineering at Tohoku University in 1995. In 2001 he became a research fellow member at the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. He obtained his doctor's degree in biotechnology at the Tohoku University’s Graduate School of Engineering in 2004. After working at an in vitro diagnostics manufacturer, he joined Konica Minolta, Inc. in 2007. He has been in charge of SPFS development at the Life Science Technology Project and is currently a company manager.