Prof. Nakamura has been contributing to genomic medicine and also cancer research fields for more than two decades. He was one of pioneers in developing and applying genetic polymorphic markers (VNTR and SNP) in the medical genomics field. DNA polymorphic markers developed and mapped by his groups have contributed to map and clone genes responsible to hereditary diseases, those susceptible to common diseases, those related to drug response, and those involved in cancer. His groups in Cancer Institute, University of Tokyo, Osaka University and RIKEN SNP Research Center (present name is RIKEN Center for Genomic Medicine) in Japan have isolated dozens of genes of medical importance by genomics approach. In addition, RIKEN SNP Research Center led by him participated in the International HapMap Consortium and made the largest contribution in the Phase 1 HapMap project published in Nature (2005). His contribution in human genetics and cancer research fields can be measured by his publication of more than 1,000 articles, including 32 articles in American Journal of Human Genetics, 107 in Cancer Research,15 in Nature, 36 in Nature Genetics, and 11 in Science, that have been cited for more than 65,000 times in total.
