DONNER PROJECT: Keio Donner Project

*The content and faculty positions on this page are current as of 2021–2022.

Basic and Clinical Research, As One Family—The Keio Donner Project

Amid the ongoing global spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the Keio Donner Project was launched on April 2, 2020, with the aim of accelerating research on infection, immunity, and inflammation related to COVID-19 and fostering human resources. The project is named after Shibasaburo Kitasato’s nickname, “Donner-sensei” (Dr. Thunder).

Approximately 130 years ago, in 1894, the plague was rampant in Asia. At the time, neither the causative agent nor a cure for the plague had been established, and the mortality rate exceeded 90 percent. In the epidemic-stricken city of Hong Kong, Kitasato and his research team attempted to identify the bacterium by dissecting corpses with five or more people in a small, windowless room. Several members of the research team became infected, and some died. However, in this harsh environment with all the “Three Cs” (closed spaces, crowded places, and close-contact settings), Kitasato was the first in the world to discover the plague bacillus.

The spirit of Shibasaburo Kitasato has been passed down through the generations, and numerous projects targeting COVID-19 are underway at the Shinanomachi Campus, which houses the School of Medicine and the university hospital. These include the search for severity markers, research on long-term effects, viral and human genome analysis, epidemiological analysis, development of antibody diagnostic agents, and isolation of monoclonal antibodies with neutralizing activity. Basic medical sciences departments and clinical medical sciences departments are working together “as one family,” promoting research activities day and night.

We are by no means alone. We have colleagues who share our struggles and triumphs, and a next generation to carry the torch. We are confident that beyond this long ordeal, COVID-19 will be overcome, and a bright future awaits us under a different sun.

Takanori Kanai

Dean, Keio University University School of Medicine

Principal Investigator, Keio Donner Project

In late March 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic spread, the medical staff at Keio University Hospital were silently continuing to treat patients under high-risk conditions. As reports of healthcare systems collapsing in other countries emerged and our own nation faced a similar crisis, researchers and faculty members who normally engage in basic research or research support rather than direct clinical care began to wonder if they could contribute something to their colleagues working on the same Shinanomachi Campus. This led to the spontaneous formation of the “Basic Researchers’ Backup Medical Team.”

Many people wanted to unite to confront this unprecedented crisis, and within a few days, over 100 volunteers had registered for the team. The creation of this backup team generated momentum to form research groups to advance the understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of COVID-19. Under the leadership of the Dean of the School of Medicine, the first COVID-19 research team meeting was held on April 2. Various research projects, spanning from basic to clinical, were launched—including the detection of neutralizing antibodies, epidemiological analysis of transmission routes, genomic sequencing of the novel coronavirus, saliva-based PCR testing, development of plasma and neutralizing antibody therapies, and clinical trials and studies—and these were named the Donner Project.

As of February 2021, the Donner Project team, which aims to eradicate COVID-19 by transcending professional boundaries, had already held 19 web conferences. A variety of research outcomes are now emerging. We sincerely ask for your warm support.

(At the time of the research)

Operations Manager, Keio Donner Project

Vice Hospital Director, Keio University Hospital

Hideyuki Saya

The Keio Donner Project was launched at the Shinanomachi Campus in late March 2020, prompted by the spread of COVID-19, to promote research to combat the novel coronavirus. The name “Keio Donner Project” was given by Dean Masayuki Amagai of the School of Medicine (Principal Investigator of the Donner Project) to reflect a return to the origins of Shibasaburo Kitasato, the first Dean of the School of Medicine and Hospital Director, who contributed to the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases. It embodies the determination to tackle the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and development of treatments for the emerging infectious disease COVID-19 as a team. Donner is the German word for thunder, and the name originates from the fact that Shibasaburo Kitasato’s students respectfully called him “Donner-sensei” (Dr. Thunder).

Basic and clinical researchers regularly gather for the Donner Project research team’s web conferences to share and discuss the latest research plans and ongoing study data. Chaired by Dr. Hideyuki Saya, Director of the Clinical and Translational Research Center (and Operations Manager of the Donner Project), these meetings feature lively Q&A sessions and opinion exchanges after each researcher’s presentation. These open meetings, which any researcher within the university can attend, are a driving force for COVID-19 research.

A wide range of projects are underway (see figure), including: the “Immunology-Related Project,” which detects and analyzes neutralizing antibodies and cellular immunity against the virus; the “Virus Detection Project,” using RT-qPCR methods and antigen detection; the “Epidemiological Analysis and Registry Construction Project,” which handles trend analysis of disease onset, infection routes, and the construction and analysis of a database of COVID-19 patients; the “Viral Genome Analysis Project,” which tracks mutations in SARS-CoV-2; the “Severity Indicator Development Project,” which identifies factors related to disease severity from diverse perspectives such as gut microbiota, central nervous system disorders, and serum biomarkers; and the “Treatment and Tool Development Project,” which includes plasma therapy and clinical trials for various drugs. Collaboration with external research institutions such as RIKEN Research Centers and Institutes and the National Institute of Infectious Diseases Research Centers and Institutes, as well as with companies, is also actively pursued. The necessary ethical procedures for clinical research have also been approved under the “Donner Project,” ensuring that research is conducted with high ethical standards.

The name “Keio Donner project (Team)” also appears as an author in academic papers. This signifies that in addition to the authors in the strict sense, many colleagues are part of the “Donner Project Research Team” and are a driving force behind the project. There is also a “Donner Project Public Relations Team” to publicize these activities within the university. Since April 2020, they have been disseminating “Donner News” internally every Thursday (Donnerstag) in both Japanese and English. These newsletters introduce plans and data shared at the Keio Donner Project meetings, sometimes incorporating global insights. They are accumulated as an archive, and these steady efforts also contribute to external public relations.

It has been almost a year since the Keio Donner Project set sail. The mission of the Keio Donner Project is to produce jitsugaku (science) outcomes and return them to society by returning to the origins of Keio medical sciences—the “integration of basic and clinical research”—with the goal of ending the COVID-19 pandemic. (Donner Project Public Relations Team: Catherine Effendi, Junna Oba, Mitsuyo Omura, Chikahiro Hayashi, Yuki Hirota, Koichi Matsuo)