KOA Facility (SU)

The Keio-Med Open Access (KOA) Facility, the predecessor to the KOA Facility (SU), has worked to advance and improve the convenience of research equipment in the medical and life sciences fields for ten years since 2009, centered on the Collaborative Research Resources of the School of Medicine (Shinanomachi Campus). It also opened its doors to industry and collaborated with the Electron Microscope Laboratory (Shinanomachi Campus), the Central Service Facilities for Science and Technology Research (Yagami Campus), and the Faculty of Pharmacy (Shiba-Kyoritsu Campus) to promote the "visualization" of research equipment across faculties and build a "Shared Support Web System."

Following this trend, the KOA Facility (SU) is now entering a new phase, aiming to become a network hub that not only promotes cutting-edge academic research but also facilitates expansion into corporate research for commercialization.

Building a network for the mutual use of research equipment in the medical and life sciences fields

■ Background, Rationale, and Goals for Activities Continuing from FY2019

In FY2020, as the second (and final) year of the MEXT's Program for Promoting the Sharing of Advanced Research Infrastructure (SHARE), we will promote the development of the "ABC Problem-Solving Shared System Network."

Task A (Improving Accessibility, etc.): We will formulate and publish specifications that contribute to the standardization of data description methods and interconnection of shared systems, and share this information with other institutions. We will enable system-level interconnection between the shared systems of participating institutions.

Task B (Introducing Corporate Support, etc.): We will build a system (remote support) that allows technicians from multiple companies providing research equipment and technical support (support companies) and technicians from university shared facilities to provide technical support to remote users via the shared network.

Task C (Community Building, etc.): The network secretariat will handle administrative communication and will plan and manage project promotion meetings. In cooperation with other participating institutions, we will consider appropriate inter-university agreements based on each institution's rules and user feedback, and will explore and aim to realize the future form of the network after the project ends, such as multi-institutional consortium agreements.

■ New Activity Goals, Content, and Implementation Background for FY2020

Over the course of one year, we will prepare to apply for the MEXT's "Core Facility Construction Support Program," to be newly established in FY2020, by deepening information sharing with the Office for Research Coordination and Administration, the university's overall coordinating department, and creating a framework for cross-faculty collaboration.

■ Implementation Details, Research Outcomes, and Degree of Achievement Against the Business Plan for the Fiscal Year

In FY2020, as the second year of the MEXT's Program for Promoting the Sharing of Advanced Research Infrastructure (SHARE), we worked on building the "ABC Problem-Solving Shared System Network." We promoted the introduction and operation of the "Shared Support Web System" (SimpRent), which was developed under the New Sharing Project (a three-year period from FY2016 to FY2018) and features functions such as "visualization" of research equipment across faculties, reservations, usage records, and invoice issuance. For inter-university collaboration, we partnered with Shinshu University (a national university corporation) and Tokyo Metropolitan University (a public university corporation) to address challenges related to networking shared facilities among the three universities (private, national, and public), defining them as Task A (Improving Accessibility, etc.), Task B (Introducing Corporate Support, etc.), and Task C (Community Building, etc.). We were able to leverage Keio University's networking experience among the School of Medicine, Faculty of Science and Technology, and Faculty of Pharmacy, which helped advance the project.

The 43rd Annual Meeting of the Molecular Biology Society of Japan

Daiki Kuroki, "Implementation and Satisfaction of Remote Support for Research Equipment in Shared Facilities" (This presentation is about the KOA Facility)

December 2 (Wed) - December 4 (Fri), 2020

MEXT Program for Promoting the Sharing of Advanced Research Infrastructure Symposium 2020

Koichi Matsuo, "On the Barriers and Solutions Identified in SHARE_ABC"

January 27 (Wed), 2021

The 43rd Meeting of the Japan Society for Physiological Technology

Daiki Kuroki, "Design of Screen-Sharing Equipment for Research Instruments and Implementation of Remote Support Using Screen Sharing" (This presentation is about the KOA Facility)

February 18 (Thu) - February 19 (Fri), 2021

We developed remote support through screen sharing of PCs controlling research equipment and promoted the remote operation and automation of research instruments. Driven by the need to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic, the development of remote access, automation, and advancement of research equipment was accelerated.