2021.05.25
Since fiscal year 2019, KGRI has been providing grants for start-up research that aligns with its goal of strongly promoting globalization and interdisciplinary research at Keio University. Some of the research projects that have received these grants have already achieved significant results, and we believe this grant program is of great importance. Therefore, this fiscal year, we again invited applications for the KGRI Start-up Research Grant (two grants of 2 million yen each).
As with last year, the number of applications was somewhat sluggish due to constraints in thoroughly publicizing the application guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, all the proposed research projects were extremely interesting, and the screening committee members were strongly impressed by the "potential" of Keio University in terms of globalization and interdisciplinary research. Nevertheless, also similar to last year, there was a slight bias toward science and engineering research, which left something to be desired from the perspective of promoting true interdisciplinary research. For the next fiscal year, KGRI will make further efforts to deepen and advance interdisciplinary research at the institute, such as by improving our public relations activities.
Following an online hearing and review process, this fiscal year's Start-up Research Grants have been awarded to Eisuke Shimizu (Project Lecturer, School of Medicine) for his project "Eradicating Preventable Blindness with Keio-Born Ophthalmic Diagnostic AI Using the Smart Eye Camera" and Tsubasa Takizawa (Senior Assistant Professor, School of Medicine) for his project "Verification and Countermeasures for Headache Risks."
Dr. Shimizu's research aims to improve the accuracy of and further develop the already existing "ophthalmic diagnostic AI" with the grand objective of contributing to the eradication of preventable blindness and visual impairment worldwide. Developing countries face serious challenges, such as shortages of medical equipment and doctors. The goal of solving these issues by developing and disseminating a compact device equipped with AI is clear and possesses a certain degree of innovation. Furthermore, the project has a network with universities and research centers and institutes in countries including the United States, Vietnam, India, Nepal, and Kenya, demonstrating the internationality that KGRI emphasizes. While challenges were noted regarding collaboration with other fields and interdisciplinarity, collaboration with the humanities and social sciences on ethical aspects, personal information protection, and privacy is expected in the future. KGRI strongly hopes that this grant will further enhance the accuracy of the "Smart Eye Camera" and powerfully advance this "grand" research project of "eradicating preventable blindness and visual impairment worldwide."
Dr. Takizawa's research can be described as a sequel to the headache study that received the "KGRI Pre-Start-up Research Grant" last fiscal year, and KGRI, having supported that research, is pleased to see its development. This time, he will collaborate with Professor Satoshi Umeta of the Faculty of Letters (Department of Psychology) to empirically study the relationship between migraines and barometric pressure. This research is also recognized for its interdisciplinarity, as it will incorporate psychological tests and autonomic nervous system tests. Furthermore, by exploring the relationship between "climate" and headaches, it is expected to develop into international regional and cultural studies. In this respect, it also demonstrates internationality and further potential for interdisciplinarity. However, it is reported that there have been no interventional studies, either in Japan or abroad, that involve changing barometric pressure for headache patients. Therefore, the project may face various challenges in the future, including ethical ones. We hope that he will effectively utilize this grant to overcome these challenges by collaborating with researchers from other faculties and further advance his research.
In conclusion, while all the submitted research proposals had many excellent points, these two projects were selected for this grant because they met the "KGRI standards" at a higher level. We ask the recipients to keep in mind the spirit of KGRI and the purpose of this grant and to strive to concretely realize the evaluation points mentioned above. We hope that this grant will be used appropriately and effectively by the recipients and will serve as a support for the development of their respective research.
[Recipients]
"Eradicating Preventable Blindness with Keio-Born Ophthalmic Diagnostic AI Using the Smart Eye Camera"
Eisuke Shimizu (Project Lecturer, School of Medicine)
"Verification and Countermeasures for Headache Risks"
Tsubasa Takizawa (Senior Assistant Professor, School of Medicine)
[Comments from the Recipients]
Eisuke Shimizu
Thank you very much for selecting my project for the KGRI Start-up Research Grant. For an ophthalmologist, "blindness" is equivalent to a patient's death for doctors in other specialties. I believe that eradicating preventable blindness in the world with an idea born at Keio University can contribute not only medically but also economically!! We are in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, but I intend to create a blindness prevention system suitable for the post-COVID and with-COVID era!!
Tsubasa Takizawa
I am deeply honored to have been selected for the KGRI Start-up Research Grant. Chronic headaches have a high prevalence and significantly impact daily life, and many patients suffer from them. I hope to develop research that can contribute to headache patients by collaborating with researchers from other fields beyond the boundaries of clinical departments and faculties, as well as with experts from overseas, including those in the headache field. I will strive to disseminate evidence and information that will help many headache patients live with peace of mind. I sincerely thank you for your warm support.
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FY2021 KGRI Start-up Research Grant (Application Guidelines)
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