Yutaka Niihara has been involved in patient care and research for sickle cell disease for most of his career, and is the Principal Inventor of the patented L-glutamine therapy for treatment of sickle cell disease. He is a Co-founder of Emmaus, Principal Investigator for LABioMed at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and Professor of Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. His experience includes serving as President, Chief Executive Officer and Medical Director of Hope International Hospice. A board-certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Board of Internal Medicine/Hematology, he is licensed to practice medicine in both the U.S. and Japan. His honors include the Life Time Achievement Award, from the Sickle Cell Disease Foundation of California and the Abigail Kawananako Award. He received his BA in Religion from Loma Linda University and obtained his MD degree from the Loma Linda University School of Medicine Yutaka Niihara has been involved in patient care and research for sickle cell disease for most of his career, and is the Principal Inventor of the patented L-glutamine therapy for treatment of sickle cell disease. He is a Co-founder of Emmaus, Principal Investigator for LABioMed at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and Professor of Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. His experience includes serving as President, Chief Executive Officer and Medical Director of Hope International Hospice. A board-certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Board of Internal Medicine/Hematology, he is licensed to practice medicine in both the U.S. and Japan. His honors include the Life Time Achievement Award, from the Sickle Cell Disease Foundation of California and the Abigail Kawananako Award. He received his BA in Religion from Loma Linda University and obtained his MD degree from the Loma Linda University School of Medicine

Anatomical Pathology