NEWProfessor Masumoto to Deliver a Lecture at the 30th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Japanese Heart Failure Society

Professor Masumoto will deliver a lecture at the 30th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Japanese Heart Failure Society (October 23–25, 2026; Toyama International Conference Center and other venues, Toyama, Japan).

【Presentation by Professor Masumoto】October 24, 14:15–15:45
Presidential Special Session 8: "The Emerging Era of Myocardial Regenerative Medicine: iPSC-Derived Cardiac Sheets and Spheroids"
Lecture Title: "Development of Myocardial Regenerative Therapy Using Vascularized Cardiac Organoids and Prospects for Clinical and Commercial Translation"
Venue: Room 4 (Special Conference Room, 2F), Toyama International Conference Center

NEWProfessor Masumoto to Deliver a Lecture at the 79th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Association for Thoracic Surgery

Professor Masumoto will deliver a lecture at the 79th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Association for Thoracic Surgery (October 20–22, 2026; Kyoto International Conference Center, Kyoto, Japan).

【Presentation by Professor Masumoto】October 21, 8:00–9:00
Cardiac Workshop 3: "New Frontiers in Cardiac Surgery Translational Research Enabled by Next-Generation Technologies"
Lecture Title: "Advances in Cardiac Surgery Translational Research Using Organoid and Organ-on-a-Chip Technologies"
Venue: Room 2 (Room A, 2F), Kyoto International Conference Center

NEWWelcome Adelaide Urugwiro Horanimpundu, MD to Our Lab

In September 2026, Dr. Adelaide Urugwiro Horanimpundu from Rwanda joined our laboratory as a PhD student at the Graduate School of Medicine, Kansai Medical University (International Postgraduate Program). Adelaide will study iPSC-derived cardiac and vascular organoids and their applications in regenerative medicine and drug discovery. We are delighted to welcome Adelaide to our team and look forward to supporting her growth and future achievements.

Prof. Masumoto Participated as a Panelist at the 1st KYOTO KLIS-X MEETUP 2026

On August 20, 2026, Prof. Hidetoshi Masumoto participated as a panelist at the 1st KYOTO KLIS-X MEETUP 2026 in a discussion entitled, “How can we identify promising business themes from an infinite range of possibilities?”
Using iPSC-based regenerative medicine as an example, he shared his perspectives and experiences on how research themes are selected, how technological seeds and clinical needs are balanced, how uncertainty is managed in research and development, and how academia and industry can work together toward translation and implementation.
Prof. Masumoto also participated in the roundtable discussions and networking session, providing a valuable opportunity to exchange ideas with participants from startups, industry, venture capital, and support organizations.

Our Research Featured on the Cover of Stem Cell Reports

We are pleased to announce that our recent research has been featured on the cover of Stem Cell Reports Volume 21, Issue 8 , published on August 11, 2026. In this study, we demonstrated that short and intermittent high hydrostatic pressure stimulation — a form of “pressure training” — promotes the maturation of engineered cardiac tissues derived from human pluripotent stem cells. The findings were previously highlighted in press releases from RIKEN and other institutions and have also been featured by several major Japanese media outlets, including NHK Kansai News, the Japan News by the Yomiuri Shimbun, and The Nikkei. The cover artwork was created by Dr. Misaki Ouchida, a scientific illustrator at Hokkaido University. We sincerely thank her for beautifully and creatively visualizing the concept of our research.

Research“Training with Pressure”: A Next-Generation Method for Producing iPS Cell-Derived Engineered Cardiac Tissue

A research study led by our laboratory has been published in the international journal Stem Cell Reports.In this study, we demonstrated that applying controlled pressure to engineered cardiac tissue derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells can efficiently promote tissue maturation by mimicking the pressure changes experienced by the beating heart. Pressure-trained cardiac tissues showed improvements in cardiomyocyte alignment, contractile function, calcium handling, and mitochondrial function. These findings are expected to contribute to the development of more mature engineered cardiac tissues for cardiac regenerative medicine and drug evaluation. For further details, please see the published article and the RIKEN press release below.

• Article in Stem Cell Reports
• RIKEN Press Release

Update on Research Structure

Effective July 1, 2026, Program-Specific Professor Hidetoshi Masumoto was appointed as Distinguished Professor appointed by the University President in the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery at Kansai Medical University. Through continued collaboration between Kyoto University and Kansai Medical University, we will further advance research and development in next-generation cardiovascular medicine, including iPSC-based cardiac regenerative medicine and cardiac organoids.

Selected for the FY2026 Medical Innovation Research Grant from the Ishida Medical Foundation

We are pleased to announce that a research project led by Professor Hidetoshi Masumoto has been selected for the FY2026 Medical Innovation Research Grant Program of the Ishida Medical Foundation. With this support, we will further advance our research in cardiac tissue engineering and regenerative medicine using human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs), aiming to translate our findings into clinical applications. We sincerely appreciate the Foundation’s generous support.

Selected Project：Development of a Novel Cardiac Regenerative Therapy Based on “Plug-in Cardiac Tissue” as a Human iPSC-Derived Cardiac Organoid

A welcome party for new students

Dr. Yuki Kuroda and Dr. Laura Yuriko GONZÁLEZ-TESHIMA (fourth-year PhD students) successfully obtained their PhD degrees and graduated in March 2026. We sincerely congratulate them on this achievement and wish them continued success in their future endeavor.
In April 2026, Dr. Yuki Wada and Dr. Kazufumi Yoshida joined our laboratory. We held a welcome party to celebrate their arrival and look forward to their contributions to the lab.

Prof. Masumoto to Deliver a Lecture at the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science Seminar

Prof. Hidetoshi Masumoto will give a lecture at the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science (Tokyo) on March 27, 2026, as part of the TMIMS Seminar. The title of his lecture is “Research on Cardiac Diseases and Applications to Regenerative Medicine Using Human iPS Cell-Derived Cardiac Organoids.” The seminar is hosted by Project Leader Yuichiro Miyaoka of the Regenerative Medicine Project.

Prof. Masumoto and Dr. Murata to Present at the Japanese Society for Regenerative Medicine

Prof. Hidetoshi Masumoto and Dr. Kozue Murata will give symposium and general oral presentations at the 25th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society for Regenerative Medicine (Kobe International Conference Center, March 19–20, 2026).

Presentation by Prof. Masumoto: March 19, 15:00–17:00, Symposium 19, “Crosstalk Between Organ Transplantation and Regenerative Medicine”
“Cardiac Organoid Transplantation as Regenerative Medicine Complementing Heart Transplantation: Its Potential and Limitations”

Presentation by Dr. Murata: March 20, 14:00–15:00, General Oral Session 25, Differentiation Induction 2
“Development of a Serum-Free Method for Differentiation of Vascular Mural Cells from iPS Cells Using Human Platelet Extract for Future Clinical Application”

Presentation by Prof. Masumoto: March 20, 15:10–17:10, Symposium 40, “Toward the Development of Guidelines for Quality Evaluation of Organoid-Type Human Cell-Based Products”
“Concepts and Challenges in Quality Evaluation for the Clinical Application of iPS Cell-Derived Cardiac Organoids”

Prof. Masumoto to Give an Educational Lecture at STROKE 2026

Prof. Hidetoshi Masumoto will give an educational lecture at STROKE 2026 (Osaka International Convention Center, March 12–14, 2026).

March 12, 9:00–9:30, Educational Lecture 2 (Japan Stroke Society)
“Frontiers of Cardiac Regenerative Medicine”

Graduate Student Laura Yuriko González-Teshima Receives the MBSJ–EMBO Poster Award at the Annual Meeting of the Molecular Biology Society of Japan

Laura Yuriko González-Teshima, a doctoral student in our laboratory, received the MBSJ–EMBO Poster Award at the 48th Annual Meeting of the Molecular Biology Society of Japan (Pacifico Yokohama, December 3–5, 2025). Her research, which used arteriovenous vascular organoids to analyze mechanisms underlying disrupted vascular formation in pulmonary arteriovenous malformations—a serious complication that can develop after surgery for congenital heart disease—was highly evaluated. Her poster was selected among 51 presentations out of 1,599 submissions (top 3%). Congratulations!

Paper by Graduate Student Laura Yuriko González-Teshima Published in Scientific Reports

A paper by Laura Yuriko González-Teshima, a graduate student in our laboratory, was published in Scientific Reports on November 24, 2025. This work was a collaborative study with Dr. Masaya Ikegawa at Doshisha University, Dr. Masaya Hagiwara at RIKEN BDR, Dr. Shiro Baba at Kyoto University Department of Pediatrics, and colleagues. The study addresses the long-hypothesized “hepatic factor” believed to underlie pulmonary arteriovenous malformations (PAVM), which cause hypoxemia after surgery for congenital heart disease. By analyzing infant plasma, the study suggests that hepatic venous plasma may contribute to maintenance of vascular stability, providing new insight into PAVM and bringing us closer to the development of novel therapies.

Citation: González-Teshima LY, Hakamada K, Murata K, Nakagawa R, Baba S, Ide Y, Okamura M, Ikai A, Ikeda T, Minatoya K, Hagiwara M, Ikegawa M, Masumoto H*. Hepatic vein-derived factors may affect pulmonary arteriovenous malformations after single ventricle palliation by modulating vascular cell behavior. Sci Rep. 2025;15:41640. doi:10.1038/s41598-025-25523-1.

Dr. Murata to Present at a Symposium at the 9th Basic Cardiovascular Research Forum of the Japanese Circulation Society (BCVR2025)

Dr. Kozue Murata will present at the symposium “Regenerative Medicine and Development” during the 9th Basic Cardiovascular Research Forum of the Japanese Circulation Society (BCVR2025), to be held on December 13–14 at Miyakomesse, Kyoto.

Presentation title: Maturation of cardiac organoids and their promise for future cardiovascular therapies

Prof. Masumoto to Lecture at the 4th Cell Sheet Engineering Innovation Forum

Prof. Hidetoshi Masumoto will give a lecture at the 4th Cell Sheet Engineering Innovation Forum, to be held on Friday, November 28 at Miraikan (The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation), Tokyo.

Lecture title: Prospects for Next-Generation Cardiovascular Medicine Using Cardiac Organoids Based on Cell Sheet Technology

Graduate Student Laura Yuriko González-Teshima to Present at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions

Laura Yuriko González-Teshima, a graduate student in our laboratory, will present at the American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Sessions, to be held in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, from November 7 to 10. This study used both 2D and 3D in vitro models to show that plasma derived from the superior vena cava and hepatic vein differentially regulates endothelial angiogenic behavior, providing insight into the mechanism of pulmonary arteriovenous malformations that develop after the Glenn procedure in patients with single-ventricle congenital heart disease.

Presentation title: In Vitro Disease Model-based Investigation of Endothelial Cell Behaviour Relevant to Pulmonary Arteriovenous Malformations Development After Glenn Procedure (Moderated Digital Poster)

Paper by Dr. Murata Published in Stem Cell Research & Therapy

Research by Dr. Kozue Murata on the development of a method to produce bioactive proteins (cytokines) required for differentiating iPS cells into cardiac and vascular cell types using a transient plant expression system was published in Stem Cell Research & Therapy on June 25, 2025. This work was also featured on the websites of RIKEN and Kyoto University.

Citation: Murata K, Takamura K, Watanabe R, Nagashima A, Miyauchi M, Miyauchi Y, Masumoto H*. Production of bioactive cytokines using plant expression system for cardiovascular cell differentiation from human pluripotent stem cells. Stem Cell Res Ther. 2025;16:303. doi:10.1186/s13287-025-04424-0.

Prof. Masumoto to Lecture at the 46th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Inflammation and Regeneration

Prof. Hidetoshi Masumoto will give a lecture at the 46th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Inflammation and Regeneration, to be held at Hotel Okura Kyoto on July 31 and August 1, 2025.

Scheduled session:
Symposium 6: Tissue Engineering Technologies Enabling Regenerative Induction Medicine (July 31, 14:10–16:10)

Prof. Masumoto to Lecture at a LINK-J Event

Prof. Hidetoshi Masumoto will give a lecture at the LINK-J / Kyoto University joint event “LINK-J × Kyoto University Joint Seminar Vol. 4: Research at Kyoto University and Utilization of Its Outcomes”, to be held in Tokyo and online on April 14, 2025.

Kyoto University Website Launched

Following the relocation of the Masumoto Laboratory from the RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research (RIKEN BDR) to Kyoto University, we have launched our new website. The previous history of the laboratory can still be viewed on the RIKEN BDR website.