The Open Philanthropy Project recommended a grant of $2,500,000 over five years to Kyushu University to support research by Professor Katsuhiko Hayashi on mammalian reproduction. Dr. Hayashi has been at the forefront of research into methods of causing induced pluripotent stem cells to develop into oocytes in mice.

Progress in this area could eventually enable people with fertility challenges to have children and could eventually help reduce the incidence of a wide variety of high-burden disorders (such as heart disease, chronic pain, depression, and Alzheimer’s disease) and promote other positive outcomes. Dr. Hayashi’s research is amongst the most promising our science team has encountered so far in this field.

This falls within our work on scientific research, specifically within our interest in advancing transformative basic science.