Center for Human Metabolomic Systems Biology

Holding the General Workshop 2011: In September, a workshop conducted entirely in English will be held at the Mita Campus. As in previous years, RAs in their second to fourth years of the Doctoral Programs will give oral and poster presentations. To further motivate them to improve their presentation skills, the best presenters will be selected by vote.

Support for Study Abroad and International Conference Travel Expenses: To provide young researchers (especially RAs) with international experience, we will continue from FY2010 to offer travel support for those presenting at international conferences and for prospective study abroad students for trips aimed at research discussions (brainstorming) with their host institutions.

Holding Summer/Spring Schools: We will promote international human resource development by holding short-term joint schools with international partner institutions. Since the Spring School implemented a program with some transferable credits, which substantiated the collaboration, we will continue and establish this collaborative activity in FY2011.

Holding a Global COE Research Activity Report Meeting: As the Global COE Program will conclude in FY2011, both RAs and PDs will reflect on their research activities to date and present their progress and research outcomes. Through information sharing and opinion exchange, we will promote the dissemination and establishment of the results and aim for breakthroughs in research on the control mechanisms of metabolic systems.

Seminar Management: Seminars will be held as needed for the following purposes: a) To enrich discussion time and promote cluster integration. b) To provide young researchers with opportunities to moderate and present, thereby improving their presentation skills.

Holding Symposiums at Related Academic Conferences: Director Tomita of the Institute for Advanced Biosciences will host the international metabolomics conference, Metabolomics 2011, in Tsuruoka in June. This is the second time this remarkable achievement has occurred, following the first, and it is internationally recognized that Japan is at the forefront of this field. By holding a symposium to present our research results to date at such international conferences, we will significantly promote the activities of this research center both domestically and internationally.

Holding a Workshop in a Retreat Format: The general workshop, previously held at locations like the Shinanomachi and Mita Campuses, was conducted as a two-day, one-night retreat. Since members are spread across three campuses—Shinanomachi, Yagami, and Tsuruoka—interaction can be limited. However, the retreat format further deepened mutual friendship, and for the first time, we established a venue for research presentations focused on four research clusters. Conducting everything in English promoted career development that fosters an international perspective.

Holding the Peking-Keio Joint Summer School: As the third installment following the Karolinska-Keio Joint Spring School in March, a summer school was held on August 4. This time, it was held at the Shinanomachi Campus. Cutting-edge lectures were given by professors from Peking University, providing an excellent opportunity for participants to acquire an international perspective while in Japan.

Support for Study Abroad and International Conference Travel Expenses: To provide young researchers (especially RAs) with international experience, we continued from FY2009 to offer travel support for those presenting at international conferences and for prospective study abroad students for the next fiscal year for trips aimed at research discussions with their host institutions. This enabled them to present cutting-edge results of GCOE-related research abroad.

The establishment of high-resolution microscopic mass imaging technology.

The publication of results in top-tier journals such as Nature, Cell Stem Cell, and Cancer Cell.