Tokyo Medical and Dental University Alumni

Founded in 1928 as Japan’s first national dental school and later expanded to medical education, TMDU was a leading public health sciences university in Tokyo until its 2024 merger into Science Tokyo. It consistently ranks top‑10 in Japan for medicine and #1 globally for dentistry, with strength in biomedical engineering and biomaterials.

Here are 20 notable alumni and faculty from TMDU and its successor:

Alumni Name

Notable Achievement / Famous For

Degree

Graduating Year

Akio Suzuki

Renowned heart surgeon; TMDU president; implanted first man-made heart valve (1960)

MD (Medicine)

1956

Susumu Hagiwara

Neuroscientist; studied calcium channels; NAS & AAAS member

Faculty (MD/PhD)

N/A

Michiei Oto

Molecular biologist; biotech expert; pioneer in gene literacy

PhD (Medicine)

N/A

Satoru Miyano

Bioinformatics leader; ISCB Fellow; directs TMDU data science center

PhD

N/A

Mitsuru Sakurai

Internist and politician; member of Japan’s House of Councillors

MD

N/A

Noriko Ōsumi

Neuroscientist; vice-president of Tohoku University

MD/PhD

N/A

Nobuo Suga

Neurophysiologist; expert on bat echolocation; NAS member

Faculty (MD/PhD)

N/A

Olga T. Yokoyama

Applied linguistics professor at UCLA

Faculty

N/A

Jinsuke Kageyama

Psychiatrist; emeritus professor; criminology awards

Faculty

N/A

Minoru Kamata

Physician, writer, humanitarian, and co-founder of Japan Chernobyl Foundation

MD

N/A

Mitsuru Mukaigawara

Internist & global health diplomat; co-founded G8/G20 Youth Summit Japan

MD

2012

Ayumi Maeda

Anesthesiology resident; trained at Mass General Hospital

MD

2009

Faculty – Elisabeth Kalko

Tropical ecologist; TMDU staff

N/A

N/A

Faculty – Dieter Grossmann

Painter & professor; contributed to TMDU arts

N/A

N/A

Faculty – Erich Sackmann

Experimental physicist in life sciences

N/A

N/A

Faculty – Martin Plenio

Quantum information physicist

N/A

N/A

Faculty – Gudrun Kalmbach

Quantum logic mathematician & STEM advocate

N/A

N/A

Faculty – Franz J. Radermacher

Economist; co-founded Global Marshall Plan Initiative

PhD (Math/Econ)

N/A

Helmut Maier

Mathematician in number theory; known for "Maier’s theorem"

Diploma (Mathematics)

1976

Reiner Knizia

Internationally acclaimed board-game designer

Faculty alumnus

N/A

Students

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