January 7, 2022
The School of Medicine holds a New Year's Celebration every year for faculty, staff, and Sanshikai members. This year, due to the spread of COVID-19, the event was held on Wednesday, January 5, with only authorized personnel in attendance and with thorough infection prevention measures, such as the mandatory wearing of masks at all times. The ceremony was live-streamed via a Zoom webinar from the main conference room on the 11th floor of Building 2 of Keio University Hospital.
We welcomed Chairman Koyu Kobayashi of The Kitasato Institute, an institution with close ties to Keio University, as a guest of honor. The ceremony began with a New Year's address by Takanori Kanai, Dean of the School of Medicine, followed by congratulatory remarks from President Kohei Itoh; Chairman Koyu Kobayashi of The Kitasato Institute; Chairman Junzo Takeda of the Sanshikai; Hospital Director Morio Matsumoto; and Professor Hideyuki Saya of the School of Medicine (representing the faculty and staff).
As with last year, gratitude was expressed to the faculty and staff engaged in clinical care, research, and education amidst the rapid spread of new coronavirus variants. It was stated that in 2022, while looking ahead to a post-COVID era, we will explore new directions for Keio medical sciences in a with-COVID world and that the Keio Gijuku Shachu will persevere and move forward as one.
In conjunction with the New Year's Celebration, the award ceremony for the Keio Medical Science Prize Rising Star Award, which is supported by the Sakaguchi-Mitsuhiro Memorial Keio University Medical Science Fund, was held. The two recipients were Dr. Kenta Maruyama, Project Associate Professor at the National Institute for Physiological Sciences, National Institutes of Natural Sciences, and Dr. Shinya Sugimoto, Assistant Professor at The Sakaguchi Laboratory (Organoid Medicine), Keio University School of Medicine.
Photo: Shin Ishido