Dr. Shimokawa graduated from Kyushu University in 1979 and obtained MD and PhD degrees at the University. He studied vascular biology at the Mayo Clinic in 1985-1987 and was appointed as an assistant professor of Kyushu University in 1991, and then associate professor in 1995. In 2005, he was appointed as the professor and chairman of the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Tohoku University. In 2020, he was appointed as the Vice Dean of Graduate School, International University of Health and Welfare, while he also serves as visiting professor at Tohoku University.
He has performed a number of innovative translational research in both basic and clinical cardiovascular medicine, including coronary functional abnormalities (e.g. coronary vasospasm and microvascular angina), endothelial functions, development of innovative treatments with sound waves, and epidemiological studies on coronary artery disease and heart failure. He has received the society awards from the Japanese Circulation Society (JCS) in 1999, the American Heart Association (AHA) in 2006, and the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) in 2014. Currently, he serves as a Co-Editor of European Heart Journal (ESC), and a guest editor of International Journal of Cardiology. He is one of the 10 founding members of COVADIS (Coronary Vasomotor Disorders International Study Group) in 2012. He also served as the president of the Japanese Association of Gender-specific Medicine from 2012-2022. He has recently established the Japanese Association of Coronary Microvascular Dysfunction (J-CMD) in order to promote practice and research of CMD in Japan and abroad.