[1] After attending Phillips Academy[2] for his high school education, he graduated from Stanford University with a BA in history and obtained his M.D.

The studies undertaken by Yamada and his collaborators led to basic discoveries in the post-translational processing and biological activation of peptide hormones, the structure and function of receptors for hormones regulating gastric acid secretion, and the regulation of genes involved in the acid secretory process.

Prior to Frazier Healthcare Partners, Yamada was executive vice-president and a board member of Takeda Pharmaceuticals, and served as the chief medical and scientific officer of the company.

In 2007, Yamada was asked by the US Senate Committee on Finance to provide information concerning his response to critics of GSK's anditabetes drug, Avandia.

Yamada was conferred the title Honorary Citizen of Singapore in 2016;[5] and the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Stars, from the Japanese Government.