Hirotaka Matsui obtained his MD and PhD degrees from Hamamatsu University School of Medicine in 1995 and 2001, respectively. After training as a hematologist for 6 years, he underwent post-doctoral training with Prof. Toshiya Inaba at the Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine in Hiroshima University, where he identified responsible genes of monosomy 7-related myeloid neoplasms (SAMD9, SAMD9L and HEPACAM2). After spending for 14 years in Hiroshima University, he joined the Kumamoto University as a principal investigator at the department of Molecular Laboratory Medicine and performed research on the roles of DDX41 mutations in myeloid neoplasms. He characterized that DDX41 coordinates RNA splicing and transcriptional elongation, thus preventing the accumulation of DNA replication stress in hematopoietic cells. He is currently the Chief of the Department of Laboratory Medicine in the National Cancer Center Hospital in Japan. He is board-certified in hematology and laboratory medicine in Japan.