1. Tsuneko Okazaki is a Japanese pioneer of molecular biology known for her work on DNA replication and specifically for discovering Okazaki fragments, along with her late husband Reiji.
13 Facts About Tsuneko Okazaki
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Dr Tsuneko Okazaki has continued to be involved in academia, contributing to more advancements in DNA research.
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Tsuneko Okazaki was born in Nagoya, capital of the Aichi Prefecture of Japan, in 1933.
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Tsuneko Okazaki graduated from Aichi Prefectural Asahigaoka Senior High School.
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Tsuneko Okazaki graduated with her PhD from Nagoya University School of Science in 1956, which was the year that she met her husband, Reiji Okazaki.
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Tsuneko Okazaki has served as head of laboratories, lead academic supervisor of students, and as a significant intellectual contributor.
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Tsuneko Okazaki contributed to the research on mice with characteristics of down syndrome in order to understand the genotype-phenotype characteristics of down syndrome in humans.
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Tsuneko Okazaki was an associate professor in molecular biology at the School of Science in Nagoya University from 1967 to 1983.
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Tsuneko Okazaki held this position until she became a lead professor from 1983 to 1997.
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In 1963, after coming back from conducting research at Washington and Stanford University along with her husband, Tsuneko Okazaki had her first child.
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Reiji Okazaki died in 1975, but Tsuneko continued working to complete the research they were working on.
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Tsuneko Okazaki was awarded Chunichi Culture Award, the L'Oreal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science in 2000.
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Tsuneko Okazaki was awarded the Medal with Purple Ribbon in 2000, the Order of the Sacred Treasure, [and] Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon in 2008.