Toshio Hirano
Hirano in 2009
Born	(1947-04-17) April 17, 1947 (age 76) Osaka
Nationality	Japan
Alma mater	Osaka University
Known for	Discovery of interleukin-6 and its application in treating diseases
Awards	Crafoord Prize (2009) Japan Prize (2011)
Scientific career
Fields	Bioscience and Medical Science

Toshio Hirano (平野 俊夫, Hirano Toshio, born April 17, 1947 in Osaka, Japan) is a Japanese immunologist and academic, best known for his discovery of interleukin-6.^[1][2] Since August 2011, he has served as the 17th President of Osaka University.

Chronology

• 1972—graduated from Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University^[2]
• 1980—assistant professor in the School of Medicine, Kumamoto University^[2]
• 1984—assistant professor at Institute for Molecular and Cellular Biology, Osaka University^[2]
• 1989—professor at the same university^[2]
• 2004—Dean of Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University^[2]
• 2008—Dean of Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University^[2]
• August 2011—the 17th president of Osaka University^[3]

Honors and awards

• Erwin von Balz prize (Japan), 1986
• CIBA-GEIGY Rheumatism Prize (Japan), 1990
• Sandoz Prize for Immunology, 1992
• Osaka Science Prize [ja] (Japan), 1997
• Mochida Memorial Prize (Japan), 1998
• ISI Citation Laureate Award (Japan), 1981–98, 2000
• The Fujihara Award [ja], 2004 The Fujiwara Foundation of Science
• Medical Award of The Japan Medical Association, 2005, The Japan Medical Association
• Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon, April, 2006
• The Crafoord Prize in Polyarthritis 2009
• The Japan Prize for the discovery of interleukin-6, 2011
• Clarivate Citation Laureates, 2021