The Faculty of Medicine of the University of Cologne (Germany) and the Keio University School of Medicine held a joint symposium on aging and longevity research over 3 days from May 29 to 31. While the 1st floor Lounge of the Center for Integrated Medical Research on Shinanomachi Campus served as the main venue, a public lecture was also held at North Hall on Mita Campus in the afternoon of the 30th.
This symposium, hosted by the Keio University School of Medicine, was the 2nd joint symposium held between these two institutions following the first hosted by the University of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine in 2018. After an opening address by Professor Masayuki Amagai, dean of the School of Medicine, and Professor Thomas Krieg, the former dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Cologne, lectures were given by 5 researchers from the University of Cologne and 8 from the Keio University School of Medicine.
The 4 sessions held on Shinanomachi Campus were on the themes of "Aging & Longevity," "Stem Cells & Tissue Homeostasis," "Metabolism," and "Regenerative Medicine," and researchers, doctors, and students were among the participants from Keio University.
Furthermore, at the public lecture held at the North Hall on Mita Campus, people from various fields came and listened attentively to the lectures given by Professor Björn Schumacher of the University of Cologne and Assistant Professor Yasumichi Arai from the Keio University School of Medicine, Center for Supercentenarian Medical Research. Afterward, a lively question and answer session also took place.
Broad exchange has been strategically implemented with the University of Cologne. In addition to university-wide student exchanges and the School of Medicine’s clinical training exchange, the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Cologne, the Keio University Graduate School of Medicine, and the Keio University Faculty of Economics have been holding joint distance learning classes. Collaboration in aging and longevity research is an important activity supporting these exchanges.