Program outline
1. Outline of plan for establishing COE (center of excellence)
“Signal transduction medicine” is a field of medicine that investigates diseases from the view of information systems for maintaining homeostasis in the body, and studies their mechanisms, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. While dramatically deepening our understanding of individual diseases, progress in signal transduction medicine has highlighted complexities that cannot be clarified by conventional approaches focusing on a single disease and specialty. The purpose for establishing this COE(Center of excellence) is to elucidate the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of diseases and understand their nature from a completely new viewpoint based on accumulating world top-level research in signal transduction medicine at Kobe University, to develop strategies for innovative medical care, and, in addition, to nurture young scientists to become leaders in the coming generation in the fields of medical sciences and medical care. To achieve these objectives, we will establish a global COE for education and research on signal transduction medicine for diseases such as cancers, metabolic disorders, infectious diseases, and neurological and muscular disorders, for which radical solutions are urgently required. A cross-disciplinary and integrative approach based on the alliance between basic and clinical medicine will be adopted in this COE. This global COE aims to clarify the core mechanisms by which these diseases are associated with one another and establish novel methods for their effective diagnosis, treatment, and prevention, while also training clinician-scientists and medical researchers who are capable of creating new medical fields.
2. Objectives, significance and prospective impacts of proposed COE
The research field of the proposed COE is signal transduction medicine. In recent years, the understanding of individual diseases has been increased markedly by progress in signal transduction medicine, but the complexity of the diseases cannot be captured by conventional approaches focusing on a single disease and specialty. For example, the disease state of cancer is being revealed to be closely associated with infection, inflammation, and/or metabolic disorders, so it is essential to investigate the disease by an organized team of specialists from different backgrounds including infection, inflammation, and metabolism together with oncologists. For more effective cancer treatment, it is clearly important to implement a medical care system supported by a team of specialists in various fields including surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, prevention of infection, and mental care. Diabetes, a typical metabolic disorder, is associated with infection and inflammation, and certain types of cancer occur at a higher frequency in diabetic patients. In this COE, by focusing on cancers, metabolic disorders, infectious diseases, and neurological/muscular disorders, all of which are closely related to failures of signal transduction systems, we aim to elucidate the core mechanisms by which these diseases are associated with one another, from a completely new perspective.
3. Research activities and human resource development
In this global COE, we aim to elucidate the core mechanisms by which cancers, metabolic disorders, infectious diseases, and neurological/muscular disorders are associated with one another, and establish novel methods for effective diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of these diseases while nurturing clinician-scientists and medical researchers who are capable of creating new medical fields, by a cross-disciplinary and integrative approach. To achieve these objectives, we will implement the following:
1）Establishment of a management system
A global COE promotion committee will be organized within an academic research promotion office at Kobe University for supervising individual COEs. Under the leadership of the President and Research Directors, the committee will provide systematic support for individual COEs in budget, human resources, space for facilities, and international collaboration. COE program leaders will organize a global COE project and operation committee in cooperation with project promotion leaders and education and research coordinators, and plan the grand design for education and research activities. This design will be evaluated by an International External Evaluation Committee consisting of domestic and international distinguished academic experts and education specialists to assure a global standard of world top-level quality for the COE program.
2) Establishment of an alliance between basic and clinical medicine
We will establish a cross-disciplinary, integrative education and research system by an alliance between basic and clinical medicine, a novel concept in Japan. In the past, universities in Japan attempted to promote an alliance between basic and clinical medicine, but the reality is that such alliance has still been limited to research collaborations at the individual scientist level. In this COE, however, all of the faculty members are classified into (a) life science research, (b) basic medical research (disease-oriented basic, experimental research), and (c) clinical medical research (patient-oriented clinical research), and are assigned to the same “Kouza”, an education and research unit in the university system in Japan corresponding to a “Department” or “Division” in universities in the USA.
3.) Reinforcement of postgraduate education
A cross-disciplinary “Training Course for Leaders of Clinician-Scientists and Medical Researchers” will be established. In this course, each year, outstanding students (maximum 10 students) in their first and second year of doctoral programs will be selected based on strict evaluation of their research proposals written in English. They will be provided with grants for independent research, other financial support, and appropriate guidance by education and research coordinators to nurture them to become clinician-scientists and medical researchers who are capable of conducting original research activities at the international level. At the Graduate School of Medicine, an International Visiting Professor (IVP) system will be introduced to further enhance the quality of the graduate programs from the global viewpoint. It has already been decided to invite approximately 20 world top-level clinician-scientists and medical researchers (approximately half are female). They will hold regular seminars providing opportunities for graduate students to have intensive discussions in English. The IVPs will also give advice on research proposals.
“Signal transduction medicine” is a field of medicine that investigates diseases from the view of information systems for maintaining homeostasis in the body, and studies their mechanisms, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. While dramatically deepening our understanding of individual diseases, progress in signal transduction medicine has highlighted complexities that cannot be clarified by conventional approaches focusing on a single disease and specialty. The purpose for establishing this COE(Center of excellence) is to elucidate the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of diseases and understand their nature from a completely new viewpoint based on accumulating world top-level research in signal transduction medicine at Kobe University, to develop strategies for innovative medical care, and, in addition, to nurture young scientists to become leaders in the coming generation in the fields of medical sciences and medical care. To achieve these objectives, we will establish a global COE for education and research on signal transduction medicine for diseases such as cancers, metabolic disorders, infectious diseases, and neurological and muscular disorders, for which radical solutions are urgently required. A cross-disciplinary and integrative approach based on the alliance between basic and clinical medicine will be adopted in this COE. This global COE aims to clarify the core mechanisms by which these diseases are associated with one another and establish novel methods for their effective diagnosis, treatment, and prevention, while also training clinician-scientists and medical researchers who are capable of creating new medical fields.
2. Objectives, significance and prospective impacts of proposed COE
The research field of the proposed COE is signal transduction medicine. In recent years, the understanding of individual diseases has been increased markedly by progress in signal transduction medicine, but the complexity of the diseases cannot be captured by conventional approaches focusing on a single disease and specialty. For example, the disease state of cancer is being revealed to be closely associated with infection, inflammation, and/or metabolic disorders, so it is essential to investigate the disease by an organized team of specialists from different backgrounds including infection, inflammation, and metabolism together with oncologists. For more effective cancer treatment, it is clearly important to implement a medical care system supported by a team of specialists in various fields including surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, prevention of infection, and mental care. Diabetes, a typical metabolic disorder, is associated with infection and inflammation, and certain types of cancer occur at a higher frequency in diabetic patients. In this COE, by focusing on cancers, metabolic disorders, infectious diseases, and neurological/muscular disorders, all of which are closely related to failures of signal transduction systems, we aim to elucidate the core mechanisms by which these diseases are associated with one another, from a completely new perspective.
3. Research activities and human resource development
In this global COE, we aim to elucidate the core mechanisms by which cancers, metabolic disorders, infectious diseases, and neurological/muscular disorders are associated with one another, and establish novel methods for effective diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of these diseases while nurturing clinician-scientists and medical researchers who are capable of creating new medical fields, by a cross-disciplinary and integrative approach. To achieve these objectives, we will implement the following:
1）Establishment of a management system
A global COE promotion committee will be organized within an academic research promotion office at Kobe University for supervising individual COEs. Under the leadership of the President and Research Directors, the committee will provide systematic support for individual COEs in budget, human resources, space for facilities, and international collaboration. COE program leaders will organize a global COE project and operation committee in cooperation with project promotion leaders and education and research coordinators, and plan the grand design for education and research activities. This design will be evaluated by an International External Evaluation Committee consisting of domestic and international distinguished academic experts and education specialists to assure a global standard of world top-level quality for the COE program.
2) Establishment of an alliance between basic and clinical medicine
We will establish a cross-disciplinary, integrative education and research system by an alliance between basic and clinical medicine, a novel concept in Japan. In the past, universities in Japan attempted to promote an alliance between basic and clinical medicine, but the reality is that such alliance has still been limited to research collaborations at the individual scientist level. In this COE, however, all of the faculty members are classified into (a) life science research, (b) basic medical research (disease-oriented basic, experimental research), and (c) clinical medical research (patient-oriented clinical research), and are assigned to the same “Kouza”, an education and research unit in the university system in Japan corresponding to a “Department” or “Division” in universities in the USA.
3.) Reinforcement of postgraduate education
A cross-disciplinary “Training Course for Leaders of Clinician-Scientists and Medical Researchers” will be established. In this course, each year, outstanding students (maximum 10 students) in their first and second year of doctoral programs will be selected based on strict evaluation of their research proposals written in English. They will be provided with grants for independent research, other financial support, and appropriate guidance by education and research coordinators to nurture them to become clinician-scientists and medical researchers who are capable of conducting original research activities at the international level. At the Graduate School of Medicine, an International Visiting Professor (IVP) system will be introduced to further enhance the quality of the graduate programs from the global viewpoint. It has already been decided to invite approximately 20 world top-level clinician-scientists and medical researchers (approximately half are female). They will hold regular seminars providing opportunities for graduate students to have intensive discussions in English. The IVPs will also give advice on research proposals.
