Both a medical doctor and biomedical researcher by training, Nakanishi is the director of the Osaka Bioscience Institute and professor emeritus at Kyoto University.

[2] Nakanishi said that he considered clinical medicine, but he was swayed toward research as he realized that many modern medical conditions were still not well understood from a basic science perspective.

[4] Using electrophysiology and the Xenopus oocyte expression system, Nakanishi's team was able to isolate receptors and ion channels.

[5] Modifying a technique invented by a National Cancer Institute colleague, Nakanishi has applied cell ablation to the study of neuroscience.

[2] He has also been named a foreign associate of the US National Academy of Sciences and has received the Bristol-Myers Squibb Award for Distinguished Achievement in Neuroscience.