He returned to the University of Tokyo in 1977 as a research associate; he was appointed Lecturer there in 1986, and promoted to Associate Professor in 1988. In 1996, he moved to the National Institute for Basic Biology, Japan in Okazaki City, where he was appointed as a professor. From 2004 to 2009, he was also professor at the Graduate University for Advanced Studies in Hayama. In 2009, he transitioned to a three-way appointment as an emeritus professor at the National Institute for Basic Biology and at the Graduate University for Advanced Studies, and a professorship at the Advanced Research Organization, Integrated Research Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech). After his retirement in 2014, he continued to serve as Professor at Institute of Innovative Research, Tokyo Institute of Technology. Currently, he is head of the Cell Biology Research Unit, Institute of Innovative Research, Tokyo Institute of Technology.[5]
Christian de Duve coined the term autophagy in 1963 whereas Ohsumi began his work in 1988. Prior to that time, less than 20 papers per year were published on this subject.[6] During the 1990s, Ohsumi's group described the morphology of autophagy in yeast, and performed mutational screening on yeast cells that identified essential genes for cells to be capable of autophagy.[7][8]
^Biemiller, Lawrence (November 10, 2012). "Kyoto Prize Is Awarded to 3 Scholars". The Chronicle of Higher Education Blogs: The Ticker. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
^"大隅萬里子教授の共同研究がノーベル医学・生理学賞として選定されました" [A joint research of Professor Mariko Ohsumi won Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine]. Teikyo University of Science. October 5, 2016.