Download KENJI TAKADA BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH Dr. Kenji Takada is

10th Jully, 2013
KENJI TAKADA
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Dr. Kenji Takada is Japanese-born and grew up in a city 10 miles west of Osaka. He
received his D.D.S. and Ph. D. degrees (Dental Science) from Osaka University in 1973
and 1981, respectively. After serving as a junior investigator and later a clinician at Osaka
University Dental Hospital, he joined the Osaka University faculty in 1980 and was
dispatched to the University of British Columbia from 1981 to 1983 as a Visiting Assistant
Professor at national expense.
Since 1996, he has served as Professor and Chairman of the Department of
Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics in the Graduate School of Dentistry at Osaka
University, a top school in the Japanese hierarchy of universities. From 2005 to 2007, he
served as Dean of the School of Dentistry and of the Graduate School of Dentistry at
Osaka University, serving as a Board Member of the Management Council at Osaka
University until March 2007. He served as a Board Member of the University’s
International Relations Office from 2007 to 2010.
He has also served as board member on two cardinal councils of the national
government, the Medical Ethics Council from 2001 to 2013 and the Council for University
Chartering and School Juridical Person from 2007 to 2010, both of which exercise strong
administrative powers in dental education and the practice of dental medicine in Japan.
Dr. Takada speaks excellent English, particularly in his research and teaching fields,
and has translated into Japanese 18 Western orthodontic textbooks and articles, including
the notable text, Contemporary Orthodontics, authored by the eminent U.S. orthodontist,
W.R. Proffit (1986 and 2000 editions). He has also co-edited several texts published in
English, including Brain and Oral Functions (Elsevier Sci., B.V, 1995) and Orthodontics
in the 21st Century (Osaka Univ. Press, 2002). Other publications (a total of over 400)
include over 150 scientific papers in refereed Western journals, over 90 scientific papers in
Japanese journals and more than 60 book contributions. From 1998 to 1999, he served as
Editor-in-chief of Orthodontic Waves, a Japanese representative scientific journal of
orthodontics and has served on editorial boards for several scientific journals, including
Angle Orthodontist, Orthodontics and Craniofacial Research, Progress in Orthodontics
and Australian Orthodontic Journal.
In 1989, he was awarded a British Council Fellowship Grant and in 2000, the T. C.
Bequest Fund from the Royal College of Surgeons and Physicians (Glasgow). Research
recognition has included the Best Poster Prize at the 17th Conference on Image Technology
in 1984, the Ali Java Best Award at the 2002 World Automation Congress and Excellent
Poster Presentation Awards in 2005 and 2007 from the Japanese Orthodontic Society, all
as a co-author. He has lectured widely in Japan and overseas at professional meetings as
well as in lectures and seminars to postgraduate students.
Dr. Takada has been a Cooperation Member of the Science Council of Japan since
2008. It is worthy of note that he served as a core member on two distinguished national
research funds of the Japanese Government, the 21st Century Center of Excellence (COE)
Program (2004-2008) and the Global COE Program (2007-2011), each of which
recognized only approximately 40 or fewer research projects from all fields of natural
science in Japan.
In addition to his distinguished accomplishments in research, Dr. Takada has also been
a strong supporter of advanced education. Since 1984, he has supervised nearly 65 doctoral
students. His supervision of international graduate students has included 15 individuals
from 11 countries. In 1996, making full use of his in-depth knowledge and extensive
experience in clinical orthodontics in both Japan and North America, he revolutionized the
graduate program in his department to equal the U.S. standard, contributing to the
education of more than 50 residents who later qualified as certified orthodontists by the
year 2008. His textbook ‘Elements of Orthodontics,’ published in 2010, is the first
Japanese textbook designed for graduate students or their equivalents. The full English
edition of this textbook is now in preparation for possible publication by the end of the
year 2013.
Dr. Takada’s contributions to clinical practice are highlighted by efforts in three
particular areas. First, he served as a leading clinician in the establishment of a laboratory
for the study of oral and jaw functions in the Osaka University Orthodontic Clinic as early
as 1977. His work in this laboratory encouraged dental practitioners to recognize the
importance of oral physiology as the foundation for orthodontic diagnosis. Second, his
1983 implementation of the preadjusted Edgewise System of orthodontic treatment in the
University Hospital for full use in the orthodontic outpatient clinic pioneered adoption of
the system among dental schools in Japan. Third, based on his belief that a principal goal
of orthodontic treatment is to provide care and rehabilitation to those patients with
malocclusions related to congenital craniofacial anomalies, he implemented a systematic
team approach with particular emphasis on cooperation between maxillofacial surgeons
and speech therapists as well as coordination with research scientists. Currently, just over
20% of patients in the Osaka University Orthodontic Clinic present with such problems.
As Chairman of the Board of Directors of NPO Corporate Organization’s “The Mouth
and Face Forum” and as Vice-president of the Corporation Aggregate Advanced Medical
Engineering & Informatics “Consortium Kansai*,” Dr. Takada has participated in
numerous outreach activities. Through these activities, he has worked to introduce young
generations, ranging from high school to postgraduate age, to the joys of studying
engineering medicine and dentistry, experiences which will be invaluable to them in the
development of their future career plans. *Until 2013.
Finally, it is of significance to note that, in addition to his work in dentistry and
orthodontics and, because of his particular concern and focus on the relationship between
Japan and the U.S., he served as an Advisory Member of the “Global Policy Initiative 2008
Kansai Forum.”
In the beginning of July 2012, he honorably left Osaka University and moved to the
10th Jully, 2013
Faculty of Dentistry at National University of Singapore from which he had been offered a
position of a Visiting Professor. At the same time, he was granted a title of Professor
Emeritus from Osaka University to his distinguished achievements. From the 1st of July,
2013, he has been promoted to a full Professor in the Faculty of Dentistry at NUS.