Iwao Kanno started his career as a researcher at the Akita Research Institute of Brain and Blood Vessels in 1970, where he served as a departmental Director (1990-1995), and the Deputy Director of the Institute (2000-2005). He moved to be Director of the Molecular Imaging Center at the National Institute of Radiological Sciences (2006-2010). After retiring from administrative duties in 2014, he has been affiliated with the Advanced Neuroimaging Center, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology, Chiba, Japan.
Beginning his career in the development of 2D and 3D nuclear medicine imaging technology, his interests gradually turned towards the physiology and pathophysiology of cerebral blood flow and metabolism. He developed a strong interest in the spatial and temporal fluctuation of cerebral blood flow in relation to neuronal activity, which has become a prime target for neuroscientists using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). It remains unclear whether these fluctuations reflect mental activity or whether there is a more mysterious physiological meaning.