Takashi Ito, MD, PhD Associate Professor & Director, Organ Transplantation Center, Kyoto University Hospital

Takashi Ito is a hepatobiliary, pancreatic, and transplant surgeon with extensive expertise in adult and pediatric liver transplantation, including complex multi-organ transplantation such as liver-intestine, pancreas-kidney, and the first pancreas-intestine simultaneous transplant performed in Japan. He leads one of the world's highest-volume liver transplant programs, with 84 cases performed annually at Kyoto University — the highest in Japan. He is highly skilled in microsurgical hepatic artery reconstruction, with experience in over 300 anastomoses. His research spans both clinical and basic science, encompassing expanded indications for liver transplantation in malignancies (hepatocellular carcinoma, hilar cholangiocarcinoma, colorectal liver metastases), transplant immunology, machine perfusion organ preservation, and immune tolerance induction. He has published over 100 peer-reviewed papers in leading journals including Transplantation, Liver Transplantation, American Journal of Transplantation, and Science, and has built collaborative research networks across Japan, Europe, and Asia. He has also contributed to national transplant policy through his experience at the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. A dedicated educator, he has mentored numerous graduate students to PhD completion and received an International Mentor-Mentee Award in recognition of his outstanding research mentorship.