Koutaro Yokote is President of Chiba University, Japan, a comprehensive national university with strong traditions in medicine, life sciences, engineering, and interdisciplinary research. He assumed the presidency in April 2024 after a distinguished career as a physician-scientist, academic leader, and hospital executive.

Professor Yokote received his MD from Chiba University Medical School in 1988. Following clinical training in internal medicine and geriatrics, he pursued basic and translational research in molecular medicine and metabolism. He obtained his PhD from Uppsala University, Sweden, in 1996 after conducting research at the Ludwig Institute of Cancer Research Uppsala Branch, where he developed expertise in cell signaling and vascular biology. He subsequently earned a Doctor of Medical Science degree from Chiba University and an MBA from Keio University Business School, reflecting his engagement with academic leadership and healthcare management.

His academic career progressed to full Professor of Medicine at Chiba University in 2009. From 2009 to 2024, he led the Division of Diabetes, Metabolism and Endocrinology and the Department of Endocrinology, Hematology and Gerontology at the Graduate School of Medicine. In parallel, he served in senior executive roles at Chiba University Hospital, including Deputy Director (2011–2024) and Director General (2020–2024), as well as Vice Dean of the Graduate School of Medicine and Vice President of Chiba University.

Professor Yokote is an internationally recognized expert in diabetes, obesity, lipid disorders, and geriatrics. His research focuses on atherosclerosis, diabetic complications, and progeroid syndromes, particularly Werner syndrome. He has authored more than 430 peer-reviewed English-language publications, including articles in The New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, Nature Communications, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. He has contributed to major international clinical trials of novel therapies for obesity and cardiometabolic disease, bridging molecular mechanisms of aging with clinical medicine.

He has also played significant roles in academic governance, serving as Chairman of the National University Hospital Council of Japan (2020–2024), Chairman of the Association of Japan Medical Colleges (2022–2024), and President of the Japan Association of Obesity Research (2021–2025). As President of Chiba University, he is committed to advancing research excellence, international collaboration, and interdisciplinary innovation.