Kiyoshi Shiga

Kiyoshi Shiga (志賀 潔) (7 February 1871–25 January 1951) was a Japanese physician and bacteriologist.

Dr. Shiga was born in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. His original family name was Sato. He graduated from the Medical School of Tokyo Imperial University in 1896, and went to work at the Institute for the Study of Infectious Diseases under Dr Kitasato Shibasaburo. He became famous for the discovery of shigella, the bacillus causing dysentery in 1897. The bacterium shigella was therefore named after him, as well as the shiga toxin, which is produced by the bacterium.

After the discovery of Shigella, he worked with Paul Ehrlich in Germany (1901-05). After he returned to Japan, he resumed the study of infectious diseases with Dr Kitasato. He became a professor at Keio University in 1920.

From 1929-1931, he was the president of Keijo Imperial University in Seoul and was senior medical advisor to the Japanese Governor-General of Korea. He was a recipient of the Order of Culture in 1944.