Akira Hishinuma, MD, PhD is Professor of Dokkyo Medical University, Department of Infection Control and Clinical Laboratory Medicine (Japan) and Head of Clinical Laboratory Center of Dokkyo Medical University Hospital. He obtained his medical degree from Gunma University, School of Medicine (Japan) and his PhD degree in molecular neurobiology from Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Columbia University, NY (USA). He had a post-doctoral training in Yale University School of Medicine, CT (USA) and Arizona Research Laboratories, University of Arizona, AZ (USA). After he returned to Japan he joined Department of Endocrinology, Dokkyo Medical University and subsequently moved to Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine. He was appointed to the current position in 2010 and also Head of Clinical Genetics Section of Dokkyo Medical University. He serves as a member of the board of trustees of the Japan Thyroid Association and a councilor of Japanese Society of Laboratory Medicine and Japan Society of Clinical Chemistry. His main research interest is molecular diagnostic analysis of genetic thyroid diseases. Since 2012 he is involved in IFCC Committee of Standardization of Thyroid Function Tests (C-STFT).