Distinctive Research Centers

This center was the first at a private university to be designated as a WPI center, and it is Japan’s first microbiome research center. We will elucidate the interactions between the microbiome and humans at the molecular level. To this end, Bio2Q（World Premier International Research Center-WPI） brings together world leaders in microbiome research, organoid technology, metabolome analysis, neural circuit analysis, and quantum computation. It promotes cross-core collaborative research, leveraging cutting-edge technologies within its three research cores: the Human Multi-Organ Multi-Dimensional Data Analysis Core, the Multi-Organ Circulation Mechanism Analysis Core, and the Quantum Computing Core. Furthermore, through the establishment of a cross-disciplinary English program by the three Graduate Schools of Medicine, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Science and Technology, as well as through inter-core mentoring, we aim to cultivate human resources who will be pivotal in advancing this collaborative research.

For Japan, the country with the world's longest life expectancy, loneliness and long-term care are pressing issues. Especially in urban areas with significant aging populations and a prevalence of nuclear families, people face challenges such as the fear of being unable to return to their former lives after an illness and concerns about relatives living alone. This social burden is also becoming a future liability for younger generations. We view well-being as a fundamental right for all and aim to create an inclusive society where individuals and families, despite the worries and anxieties that follow treatment for illness or injury, can live rich, fulfilling lives in their own unique way, without losing hope and maintaining a positive outlook.

We will realize a new form of community development where resources are circulated without becoming waste by harnessing the power of other species, such as microorganisms and AI, participants find happiness through mutual respect, and people and the environment coexist in symbiosis.

Stemming from this awareness, the X Dignity Center, as symbolized by its initial "X" (cross), actively promotes multi-layered collaboration among various academic fields. It has become a major hub for new interdisciplinary research at Keio University, dedicated to exploring the ethical values surrounding "dignity" in the 21st century and disseminating its findings to the world.

Through an agreement between Keio University and Carnegie Mellon University, the Keio AI Center has launched joint research projects. From its position at the forefront of AI research, it brings together researchers and students from academia and industry to contribute to the creation of next-generation AI technologies. The center focuses particularly on AI and robots that handle visual and linguistic information, the coexistence of humans with autonomous AI, and AI for scientific discovery.