Yoshinori Ohsumi

Japanese molecular biologist (1945 - )

  • Fame62.4
  • Momentum5.1
  • Scientists rank#244
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Source-basedStable
  • Fame62.4
  • Momentum5.1
  • Scientists rank#244
  • Wikipedia26.6K
Born 1945 · age 81Japan

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  • Wikipedia
    72 languages
    Cross-language footprint
  • Age
    81
    Born 1945
  • Awards
    14
    recognised works
Summary
Updated 2026-06-08

He mapped how cells eat themselves to survive — the recycling program running in every living thing, silent and constant, that keeps damage from piling up.

Biography

About

Yoshinori Ohsumi was born February 9, 1945, and built his career as a Japanese cell biologist around a process most scientists had overlooked: autophagy, the method cells use to destroy and recycle their own components. His work cracked open the mechanisms behind that internal cleanup system, showing how it prevents cellular waste from accumulating and how it lets cells cannibalize their own parts under stress. The discoveries earned him the Kyoto Prize for Basic Sciences in 2012, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2016, and the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences in 2017. He's a pro…

By the numbers

Score breakdown

The six component signals behind the Fame score, and their ranks across the leaderboards.

Fame
Stable
62.4
Composite of search demand, mentions, audience & graph footprint.
Score components
Momentum5.1
Historical23.6
Source confidence65.0
Completeness75.0
Global rank
Country rank
Category rank
#244
Receipts

Sources

  • Wikidata
    wikidata · wikidata.org
    High confidence
  • Wikipedia
    wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
    High confidence
  • Pantheon 2.0
    database · pantheon.world
    High confidence