Life Webinar | Advances in 5-Aminolevulinic Acid Applications in Medical and Healthcare
Life Webinar | Advances in 5-Aminolevulinic Acid Applications in Medical and Healthcare
Part of the Life Webinar series
17 July 2026
5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA), protoporphyrin, heme, oxidative phosphorylation, photodynamic therapy, radio dynamic therapy, sarcopenia
Welcome from the Chair
6th Life Webinar
Advances in 5-Aminolevulinic Acid Applications in Medical and Healthcare
Dear Colleagues,
5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) is the sole source of heme biosynthesis. Heme is an essential component of the electron transport chain and mitochondrial respiratory complexes, which engage in oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) and ATP production. Mitochondrial functions and activities are a current focus in medicine and healthcare, and mitochondrial deficiency is being investigated as a primary cause of metabolic disorders and various diseases related to aging such as type 2 diabetes, sarcopenia, and neurodegenerative diseases.
Highly proliferative cancer cells are dependent on glycolysis, do not use oxygen in mitochondria even under aerobic conditions, and cause deficiency in the ferrochelatase activity that is essential for heme synthesis. As a result, cancer cells accumulate protoporphyrin IX (PPIX), a precursor of heme, which can be activated by energy from light, X-rays, and ultrasound. By using these mechanisms, 5-ALA has been applied to photodynamic diagnosis (PDD), photodynamic therapy (PDT), radio dynamic therapy (RDT), and sonodynamic therapy (SDT) for cancers.
The second presentation explores the systemic impact of heme deficiency and the protective role of 5-ALA supplementation.
Invited Speaker: Osamu Nakajima Title Presentation: Systemic Consequences of 5-ALA Synthase 1 (Alas1) gene Disruption and the Protective Role of 5-ALA
The third presentation addresses the therapeutic potential of 5-ALA in treating mitochondrial diseases.
Invited Speaker: Akira Ohtake Title Presentation: 5-ALA therapy for mitochondrial diseases
We hope these three contributions will stimulate a discussion with attendees, fostering inputs, new insights and collaborations.
Date: 20 July 2026
Time: 9:00 – 10:30 am CEST (Corresponding to 4:00 – 5:30 pm JST)
Webinar ID: 899 6778 3699
Webinar Secretariat: journal.webinar@mdpi.com
Event Chair
BA, MS, PhD, The University of Tokyo Assistant Professor, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center Associate Professor, The University of Tokyo, Inst Mol Cell Biosciences. Visiting Professor, The University of Tokyo, Shinshu University Medical School Director, Ciba-Geigy, International Research Laboratories, Director and Chief Scientist, Novartis Pharma Senior Director, Johnson & Johnson Corporate Office of Science and Technology Executive Director, CSO, SBI ALApromo, SBI Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd., NXDC Visiting Professor, Fudan University School of Life Sciences, Yamagata University School of Medicine, Keio University Graduate School of Health Management
Invited Speakers
PhD, The University of Bremen, Germany Project Manager, Strategic Development of Photodynamic Therapy and Diagnostics, medac GmbH European Marketing of PDD/PDT in bladder cancer, medac in Co-operation with Schering AG Project Manager PDT and PDD, medac GmbH New Business Development, Clinical Development and Scientific Marketing, photonamic GmbH & Co. KG Portfolio Management, Liaison Management, Clinical Project Management and Scientific Marketing, photonamic GmbH & Co. KG Director of Scientific and Medical Evaluation, photonamic GmbH & Co. KG
Department of Functional Genomics, Major of Innovative Medical Science Research, Yamagata University School of Medicine, Japan
BA, MS, PhD, The University of Tokyo Assistant Professor at the Center for TARA, University of Tsukuba Associate Professor at the Research Laboratory for Molecular Genetics, Yamagata University Visiting Associate Professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Institute for Cell Engineering. Professor and the Chief of the Research Laboratory for Molecular Genetics, Yamagata University Professor in the Department of Functional Genomics Major of Innovative Medical Science Research Yamagata University School of Medicine
Department of Clinical Genomics & Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine,
Saitama Medical University, Japan
MD, PhD: Chiba University School of Medicine Lecturer: Department of Pediatrics, Chiba University School of Medicine Assistant Professor: Department of Pediatrics, Saitama Medical University Honorary Visiting Scientist: Department of Biochemistry, La Trobe University, Australia Associate Professor: Department of Pediatrics, Saitama Medical University Professor: Department of Pediatrics, Saitama Medical University, serving concurrently as Vice-President of the Center for Intractable Diseases, and the Department of Clinical Genomics, Saitama Medical University
Registration
This is a FREE webinar. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information on how to join the webinar. Registrations with academic institutional email addresses will be prioritized.
Certificates of attendance will be delivered to those who attend the live webinar.
Can’t attend? Register anyway and we’ll let you know when the recording is available to watch.
Program
|
Speaker/Presentation |
Time in CEST |
|
Chair Introduction Motowo Nakajima |
9:00 am – 9:10 am |
|
5-ALA-XDT opportunities in cancer therapy Andrea Ebeling |
9:10 am– 9:30 am |
|
Systemic Consequences of 5-ALA Synthase 1 (Alas1) gene Disruption and the Protective Role of 5-ALA Osamu Nakajima |
9:30 am– 9:50 am |
|
5-ALA therapy for mitochondrial diseases |
9:50 am– 10:10 am |
|
Q&A |
10:10 am– 10:25 am |
|
Closing of Webinar Motowo Nakajima |
10:25 am– 10:30 am |
Relevant Special Issue
Advances in 5-Aminolevulinic Acid Applications in Medical and Healthcare
Edited by Prof. Dr. Motowo Nakajima, Prof. Dr. Walter Stummer and Dr. Shun-ichiro Ogura
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 18 September 2026
Sponsors and Partners
Organizers
