Shinya Yamanaka
Nobel laureate; discoverer of iPS cells · b. 1962
Shinya Yamanaka demonstrated that a small set of transcription factors could reprogramme differentiated cells to a pluripotent state, creating induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. The discovery changed how researchers understand cellular differentiation and opened new approaches to disease modelling and cell-product development.
Yamanaka shared the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with John B. Gurdon for the discovery that mature cells can be reprogrammed to become pluripotent. This foundational result does not make every iPS-derived product clinically proven; each differentiated product still requires specific manufacturing, safety and clinical evidence. See the Nobel scientific background.
Most clinical uses of stem cells remain investigational — check the evidence and approval status for your condition before acting on any clinic's claims.