HIROSHIMA UNIVERSITYUPDATE

MARCH 2019Nobel Laureate in Physics

On March 11th 2019, Hiroshima
University held a lecture entitled"From Hiroshima to the World Wisdom from world renowned researchers" part , inviting Professor
Hiroshi Amano (Nobel Laureate in
Physics), Nagoya University.

Prof. Hiroshi Amano
At Hiroshima University(Find details on Page 4)

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UNIVERSITY OF WORLD-WIDE REPUTE AND SPLENDORFOR YEARS INTO THE FUTURE

Embodying its founding principle of “a single unified university, free and pursuingpeace,” Hiroshima University is one of the largest comprehensive research universities in Japan. Today, HU is making steady progress as a global university, taking
on worldwide challenges and strengthening its global educational network by signing international exchange agreements with universities around the world andopening overseas bases at strategic locations.

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CONTENTS
RECENT NEWS2014
Nobel Prize

Page1,4

Lecture by Nobel Laureate (in Physics)
Prof. Hiroshi Amano at Hiroshima University

2001
Nobel Prize

Page 5

Lecture by Nobel Laureate (in Physiology Or Medicine)
Sir Paul Nurse at Tokyo

Page 6

New Graduate Schools―The Graduate School of Integrated Science for Life and The Graduate
School of Biomedical and Health Sciences―

Page 7

Integrated Master’s-PhD course for “Genome Editing”―The Frontier Development Program for Genome Editing to be launched in
April 2019―

Page 8

HU’s Actions in Response to Torrential Rain in 2018

Page 9

HU has Ranked High in University Rankings in Japan
7th place among 28 universities in Japan for“Alumni Attachment to their Alma Mater” ranking

Page 9“Mathbridges Calendar”
HU joins International Collaboration project by the University of Münster

Page 10

HU Graduate School of Education Joins INEI representing JapanUPCOMING EVENTSPage 11-12 International Conference of Harmful Algae to be held in
Hiroshima, Japan 2022
Page 12

Campus Photos (Spring)

RESEARCH FOCUS
Page 13

Soft Exoskeleton Technology Helps People
Living in Hyper-aged Society (Graduate School of Engineering)

Page 14

Genetic Mechanism of Atrial Fibrillation Pathogenesis(Graduate School of Biomedical & Health Sciences)

Page 15

Identification of a Critical Regulator of DNA Damage Response in
Hypoxic Cancer Cells (Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine)3

WISDOM FROM WORLD RENOWNED RESEARCHERS

Lecture by
Nobel Laureate

2014
Nobel Prize
In Physics

Prof. Hiroshi Amano
March 11, 2019, at HU Higashi-Hiroshima Campus

Development of Sustainable Smart Society
Via Transformative Electronics
On March 11th, 2019, Hiroshima University invited Professor
Hiroshi Amano of Nagoya University Institute of Materials andSystems of Sustainability andheld a lecture entitled “FromHiroshima University to theworld: the 4th edition of wisdomfrom world-renowned researchers”. There were about 700 participants including local highschool students who were engrossed with his lecture.
Professor Amano was awarded
the Nobel Prize in Physics 2014
together with Professor Isamu
Akasaki and Professor ShujiNakamura “for the invention ofefficient blue light-emitting diodes which has enabled brightand energy-saving white lightsources”.

Professor Amano (right) receiving theCommemorative Shield of the Honorary
Distinguished Professor

Professor Amano with the blue-emitting diodeIn the lecture Professor Amanosaid, “It is only through innovation that people can enjoy the
profits it brings”. He revealed that
he decided to work on LED research since the cathode-ray
tube of the computer had a large
amount of electricity consumption
when he was a university student. He also talked about thechallenges he overcame during
his research inventing the blueemitting diode using gallium nitride, which was thought impossible among researchers back4

then. Professor Amano is now
collaborating with companies todevelop future innovators.
After the lecture, high school students and HU students asked
many good questions, which impressed Professor Amano.
Following the lecture, President
Mitsuo Ochi of Hiroshima University awarded Professor Amano
with the title “Hiroshima University
Honorary Distinguished Professor”.

Lecture by
Nobel Laureate
Sir Paul Nurse

2001
Nobel Prize
In Physiology
Or Medicine

January 9, 2019, in TOKYO

Future Society Pioneered by Life Science
On 9th January 2019, Lecture
Meeting by Nobel Laureate Sir
Paul Nurse (2001 Nobel Laureatein Physiology or Medicine) )was
held in Tokyo.
The Lecture Meeting saw an attendance of about 200 people,
including those from universities
and companies.
The 2001 Nobel Laureate in
Physiology or Medicine, Sir Paul
Nurse gave a special lecture,
where he presented his Nobel
Prize-winning research in a comprehensible way, sometimes withhis hand-drawn illustrations.
The Lecture Meeting also saw apresentation by President Mitsuo
Ochi, a seminar of “The Frontier
Development Program for Genome Editing” selected for the
MEXT’s WISE (Doctoral Program
for World-leading Innovative &Smart Education)Program, andfour talks by HU’s world-leading
researchers in the fields of life
sciences and medicine.

At the meeting venue, participants
had an opportunity to exchange
opinions with Sir Paul Nurse andHU researchers. There were quite
active exchanges of opinions,which show a high level of expectations and interests in HU.

Through lecture meetings, HU will intend to disseminate information regarding its initiatives for “Research Capability Enhancement” and contributions tolocal and international communities.

Five talks from HU’s world-leading Researchers(From the Left)

Sir Paul Nurse

HU President Mitsuo Ochi

Professor Takashi Yamamoto, Professor Hajime Ogino, Professor
Masaoki Tsudzuki, Specially Appointed Professor Shigeto Yama5 waki, Professor Junko Tanaka

Two New Graduate Schools Open
From April 2019
The Graduate School of Integrated Sciences for Life
New "Graduate School of Integrated Sciences for Life" will be established as a dynamic education andresearch organization in order to respond to diverse social demands through the organic restructuring
and consolidation of existing majors in biology and life sciences.
The Graduate School of Integrated Sciences for Life has a single division, which consists of seven fundamental graduate degree programs. The seven programs, each of which features a systematic curriculum framework, are established by separating a broad spectrum of biology and life sciences – whichused to be divided into the four traditional academic disciplines of science, engineering, agriculture andmedicine – from the viewpoint of educational effects and the needs of modern society. Each of theseseven programs has distinctive keywords and shares some of them with other graduate degree programs, thereby enabling the formation of a group of complementary and integrated programs.

★Find More Information from:The Graduate School of Integrated Sciences for Life Website
https://www.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/en/ilife

The Graduate School of Biomedical and
Health Sciences
New “Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences”, reorganized into 2 divisions from current 5
majors, will be established in April 2019.
The aims of the Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences are as follows:
1. To develop advanced education and research for 4 medical fields; Medical Sciences, Dental Sciences, Pharmaceutical Sciences and Health Sciences with deepened basic research, through integrationand collaboration in the fields
2. To increase the length of healthy life expectancy with response to all stages of life
3. To foster the personnel capable of building a new system for health, medical care and nursing
4. To encourage students to acquire broad perspectives beyond borders of departments by taking
common specialized subjects★Find More Information from:The Graduate School of Biomedical and
Health Sciences
https://www.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/en/bhs

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Opening up the future with
Genome Editing
The Frontier Development Program for Genome Editing
to be launched in April 2019
In 2019, Hiroshima University will
launch the Frontier Development
Program for Genome Editing, anintegrated Master’s-PhD course,with the aim of training PhD students to introduce innovations tosociety.
Genome editing is a new biotechnology that makes it possible torewrite the genomic information ofvarious living organisms at will,using an artiﬁcial DNA-cutting enzyme (genome editing tool). Basicgenome editing research has advanced considerably. As it is justa matter of time before we see theindustrial and medical applicationof genome editing in the ﬁeld of
biofuel, breeding, and drug discovery, the ethical aspects of genome editing should be considered when scientists conduct cutting-edge R&D in this area of biotechnology.
This program will establish theLife Science Course (5-year curriculum) and the Medical Course(4-year curriculum) in order toprovide students with opportunities to acquire basic and applied
knowledge and to learn techniques of genome editing. This
program enables students to master genome editing technology
and connect it directly to industry.

One of the features of this program is that students are trained
to conduct cutting-edge and practical research through collaboration with companies participatingin the Program on Open Innovation Platform with Enterprises,
Research Institutes, and Academia and partner institutes.

★For further information:
The Frontier Development Program for Genome Editing website
https://genome.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/en/index.html

7This program will start to accept students in April 2019, and will be implemented as a degree program
across several graduate schools.

HU’s Actions in Response to
Torrential Rain in 2018
In July 2018, a record torrential rain hit many parts of■ HU’ S EMERGENCY SUPPORT
Western Japan, causing simultaneous landslide-related TO OUR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS
and river flooding disaster after another in many prefectures including Hiroshima, Okayama, and Ehime, which 1. Supplying halal-certified food with the students
all saw many deaths and missing persons.
Free supply of food was distributed to about 150 international students at HU.
Hiroshima University also had some damage in and- 120 cans of emergency foodaround the premises of Higashi-Hiroshima campus.
- 770 “Momiji-Manju” (small, maple-leaf-shaped
In response to this torrential rain, HU set up a Disastersweets) etc.
Investigation Team for the Torrential Rain 2018, with
the President as the head. Actions had been conducted 2. Disseminating emergency information in Japanese,
English and Chinese on the university’s website
with rapidity: Checking the safety of each student, faculty & administrative member, class cancellation andscheduling make up class, arranging transportation toComments from HU international students
Higashi-Hiroshima campus, etc.
● It was great that the university provides the international
students with such support at the time of emergency. The
quality of the supplied food was good too. I really appreciate the university for giving support like this.

Special messages from the President concerning theTorrential Rain had also been e-mailed to HU students,
faculty, and administrative members.
★For more details of the action taken, please check on our website:● As a globalized university, I hope HU will continue toprovide information in multiple languages.

https://www.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/en/torrentialrain_201811report■ ACTIVITIES BY
HU STUDENTS■ HU RESILIENCE RESEARCH CENTER

Figuring out “synergistic torrential rainfall disaster”

Volunteer activities were organized by student-run organizations “Operation Tsunagari” and “COCO” acting
as a point of contact.
A total of 1,301 HU students
participated in the volunteer
work. They were dispatchedto the disaster-stricken area
to help removing mud.
Fifteen HU students, including Daiki Miyasako and Shota
Nakamura provided rice balls
and drinks with the drivers
who were stuck on the majorroads in Higashi-Hiroshimacity. This news was reported
on our local newspaper.

Following the July Torrential
Rain 2018, Hiroshima University
Resilience Research Center(HRRC) was established as a
new interdisciplinary researchorganization, which is capable ofconducting investigation and analysis
on disasters caused by torrential rain
because such a specific research
topic was rarely done by the conventional research field of disaster prevention and disaster mitigation.
The center therefore aims to establish the world-class research center

Rice balls provided to the drivers

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that focuses on research on synergistic
torrential rainfall disaster, and to pursue
a cutting-edge interdisciplinary researchconcerning natural disaster science by
networking with leading research institutions from Japan and abroad.
★For further information:
HRRC Website
https://www.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/en/hrrc

HU has Ranked High in
University Rankings in Japan■ UNIVERSITY RANKING BY EMOTION TECH CO.

Hiroshima University has been ranked in:7th place among 28 universities in Japan
For “Alumni Attachment to their Alma Maters” ranking(All Japanese University NPS (Net Promoter Score (NPS) Survey)

The survey was focused on “To
what extent would you recommend
studying at your alma mater toyour friends or family? ”. The survey asked respondents how muchthe respondents’ experiences withthe following seven items affected
their “level of recommendations”:“The image towards the university”,“The location and The facilities”,“Tuitionandscholarship”,“Curriculumandlectures”,“Campus life”, “Job hunting support”, and “After graduation”, affected the recommendation. NPS(Net Promoter Score*) was calcu-

lated based on the responses fromeach item.
Hiroshima University was ranked at
the 7th place among the universities
with a positive NPS score of +15%.
The university had significantly highscore for “The image towards theuniversity”, and “Curriculum and lectures”.
*NPS was created by Fredrick F. Reichheld of “Bain & Company”.
As the number of NPS becomes bigger
and bigger, the consumers’ loyalty increases. By checking the NPS of alma mater ofgraduate alumni, we get to find out thealumni’s attachment to their alma mater.

Source: the data above was extracted from the resultsof “All Japanese University NPS survey”“Mathbridges Calendar”

HU joins International Collaboration projectby the University of Münster
A Calendar that bridges“Worlds Famous Bridges” and “Mathematics”
University of Münster (Germany)has made a calendar called“Mathbridge Calendar”. This calendar is made with the cooperation from universities from 12
countries around the world.
This calendar was made with thetheme “Worlds Famous Bridges”
and “Mathematics”.

This calendar was born from theidea of “Having people interested in mathematics with the
problems related to famous
bridges around the world.”
Flip the calendar, and enjoy theworlds beautiful bridges andMathematics!

Assistant
Professor
KazuyaKageyama and Ippo Ishibashi Full version of the Calendar is available
from the following link:
Doctor 2nd grade, of Graduate
School of Education, Hiroshima https://www.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/system/
files/112146/AFOUniversity is also involved in the Kalender_Mathebruecken_20180107.pdf
9project.

Find Hiroshima’s famous “Ondo Bridge” on Page 7

HU Graduate School of Education
Joins INEI representing JapanAs the representative university ofJapan, Graduate School of Education, Hiroshima University has applied for the membership of the International Network of Educational Institutes (INEI)*, an international networkof research universities with the function of teacher education where only
one leading university from eachcountry can be affiliated with. The
membership application was approved at the General Assembly held
in Beijing on November 22nd, 2018.
An agreement between Hiroshima
University and INEI was concluded inearly February 2019.
In the future, we will promote student
and academic exchanges among themember institutions, hold annual
symposia for graduate students, anddraw up plans for joint research projects and joint programs.
URL Links for INEI:International Network of Educational
Institutes(INEI)

INEI Annual Symposium* INEI: Established in 2007, it is an international network of institutions
specialized in educational research and teacher training. It consists ofinstitutions from ten countries as the network has been maintained on“one member per one country basis (following the membership withdrawal by Denmark in 2018, Japan has become a new member thistime).” The member organizations shall fulfill the following requirements: 1) National or public institution, 2) has a high prestige in the
installation area and the whole world, 3) Research-centered institution, 4) Establishment of teacher education programs and graduate
schools, 5) There is no geographical bias with the current members.

http://inei.bnu.edu.cn/

INEI Member Institutes
・Melbourne Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne, Australia
・University of São Paulo, Brazil

・Ontario Institute of Studies in Education, University of Toronto, Canada・Faculty of Education, Beijing Normal University, China
・National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
・College of Education, Seoul National University, South Korea
・School of Education, University of Cape Town, South Africa

・UCL Institute of Education, University College London, U.K.
・School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison, U.S.A.
・Aarhus University, Denmark (Withdrawal 2018)10

UPCOMING EVENTS

Graduate School of Biosphere Science

International Conference of Harmful Algae
To be held in Hiroshima, Japan 2022
*The Graduate School of Biosphere Science is reorganized into the "Graduate School of Integrated Sciences for Life" from April 2019.

Supporting Sectors: Hiroshima University, Hiroshima Prefecture,
Hiroshima CityAt “18th International Conference ofHarmful Algae (ICHA)” held in
Nante, France on October 2018, thecommittee took the unanimous decision that 20th ICHA will be hosted by
Hiroshima in 2022. Professor Koike,
Graduate School of Biosphere Science, and Professor Imai (Hokkaido
University) had mounted intensive
campaign to invite the conference toHiroshima, under solidary cooperation with Hiroshima University, Hiroshima Prefecture, Hiroshima City as
supporting sectors, and with the Hiroshima Convention & Visitors Bureau (HCVB) and the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO).
This conference is an academic occasion where researchers or stakeholders gather biannually to present
their outputs relating to harmful al-gal blooms (usually abbreviatedas HABs) which may cause fishmass mortality by red-tides andshellfish poisonings due to toxic
algae. 600-800 participants fromworldwide are expected.
The sophisticated cuisine culture
in Japan has long been supported
by fishery products which are provided in bulk by aquaculture. So
the history of aquaculture has
been largely subject to the many
struggles with HABs, to say theleast. The aquaculture industries
have suffered extensively fromthe threats of HABs that result inboth fish-kills and shell fish poisonings. Turning our eyes to the
population and food problems of11

the world, it is remarkable that the
rapidly growing global population
will soon be exceeding 10 billion.
Hence, it is crucial to utilize marine
resources more effectively than ever. However, HABs present major
challenges in the coastal regions of
the world, due to forces such as
global climatic change, eutrophication, and the spread of invasive
species with ballast water, etc. Exploring coping mechanisms to thesechallenges will be of immense global importance in the near future, inorder to continue enjoying thebountifulness of the sea. Therefore,
we believe that Japan would be oneof the best places for the productive
discussion of these important marine issues.

The Japanese people have a long
history of intimate ties with thecoastal environment which is defined by the concept of Sato-umi
whereby biological productivity
and biodiversity have been enhanced through the interactions ofhumans with the coastal ecosystem. Japanese coastal landscapes have been formed andmaintained through various human activities such as fisheries
including aquaculture and shipping. Fortuitously, the Japanesepeople have managed to develop
unique solutions to coastal problems such as HABs. The conceptof Sato-umi represents a humanin-nature approach, in which ahealthy coastal ecosystem supports sound fisheries including
aquaculture, and harmonious human activities of maintenanceand improvements are maintained for sustainable ecosystems. For example, the cultivation of seaweeds and bivalves
can be recognized as a kind of
purification for coastal environments.
The 20th ICHA in Hiroshima
would provide an excellent opportunity to make contributions to
the HAB knowledge from all over
the world. The theme of the conference will be “HAB Science andHuman Well-being”. The goal is

to exchange relevant scientificinformation towards a greater understanding of HAB mechanisms,
better and timely predictions of
HAB occurrences and mitigating
their negative effects. The 20th
ICHA will provide an opportunity
to communicate, compare andexchange research contents, contribute cutting-edge knowledge,
make and renew friendships, andcontribute effectively towards
greater international efforts forunderstanding and protecting themarine and fresh water ecosystems.

CAMPUS PHOTOS(SPRING)In the spring, from late March to early April, you can see cherry blossoms (sakura) throughout the campus. Marchhappens to be the season when many HU students are graduating. The photos below show new graduates in suitsand hakama (traditional Japanese garment worn over kimono) having a memorable time before and after the Graduation Ceremony.

SAKURA in full bloom (Higashi Hiroshima Campus) *pictures taken in April 2018

New graduate girls in colorful HAKAMAs

Tossing new graduates into the air!
A familiar sight at Graduate Ceremony in HU.

*pictures taken in March 23rd, 2019

★Find more photos from our official Instagram! https://www.instagram.com/hiroshima_univ/

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RESEARCH FOCUS
Graduate School of Engineering

Soft Exoskeleton Technology
Helps People Living in Hyper-aged SocietyProf. Yuichi Kurita

Arthur C. Clarke, who is a famous
British science fiction writer, saidin his literature: ‘The old idea that
Man invented tools is therefore amisleading half-truth; it would be
more accurate to say that tools
invented Man’ [1]. Many people
already use technology that augments their abilities in day-to-day
life. Smartphones, for example,
are like an external memory. Can
we improve our physical abilities
with wearable assistive technology? This is our motivation of theresearch. Our research groups
have developed soft exoskeleton
suits in collaboration with Daiya
Industry Co., Ltd. Thanks to goodcharacteristics of the newly developed pneumatic artificial gel actuators (Fig.1), light-weighted, flexible, and cost-effective soft exoskeleton suits could be designed.
We have developed the soft exoskeleton suits for walking assist[2]and construction work assist[3].
We are also exploring the soft
exoskeleton technology to augment the sports experience, suchas tennis swing augmentation[4]and motion timing training[5]. In
addition, our students’ team won
the third place on SuperhumanSports Design Challenge[6] with
‘MuscleBlazer’, which uses thedeveloped
soft
exoskeleton.
Practice and training is not always fun, but it does not always
have to be that way. If people use
soft exoskeleton technology, they
will enjoy sports more. I hopephysical assistive technology canchange the world for anyone who actively enjoy their life independently ofageing.

This research is supported by
JST PRESTO(JPMJPR16D3) and
KAKENHI(18H03276).

Figure 1: Pneumatic artificial gel muscles [1]Figure 2: Developed soft exoskeleton suits

Figure 3: MuscleBlazer presented on Superhuman Sports Design Challenge 201813

References[1] A. C. Clarke, Profiles of the Future: An Inquiry into the Limits of the Possible, Henry Holt & Co, 1984
[2] K. Ogawa, C. Thakur, T. Ikeda, T. Tsuji, Y. Kurita, Development of a pneumatic artificial muscle driven by low pressure and its application to the unplugged powered suit, Advanced Robotics, 31(21):1135-1143, 2017[3] K. Ogawa, A. Ono, Y. Fukuda, K. Tsuneyasu, Y. Kurita, Development of a lightweight flexible construction work assist suit using pneumatic rubber artificial muscles, 40th International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine
and Biology Society, 2018[4] K. Ogawa, T. Ikeda, Y. Kurita, Unplugged powered suit for superhuman tennis, 12th France-Japan Congress, 10th
Europe-Asia Congress on Mechatronics, pp.355-358, 2018
[5] W. Sakoda, T. Tsuji, Y. Kurita, VR training system of step timing for baseball batter using force stimulus, AsiaHaptics2018, 2018[6] Y. Kishishita, A. R. Vega, S. Das, C. Thakur, Y. Yanase, Y. Kurita, Muscleblazer: a wearable laser tag module powered by PAM-induced force-feedback, First International Symposium on Amplifying Capabilities, Competing in Mixed
Realities, 2018

Graduate School of Biomedical & Health Sciences

Genetic Mechanism of
Atrial Fibrillation Pathogenesis

Prof. Yasuki Kihara

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the mostcommon and serious arrhythmia
causing cerebral embolism andheart failure. Numerous factors,
such as hypertension, aging, diabetes, and structural heart diseases, increase AF developments. Genetic backgrounds also
contributes to AF pathogenesis.
Several genes have been reported to be associated with AF bygenome wide association studies(GWAS), among them, the single
nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)
rs6817105 (T > C) near Pairedlike homeodomain transcription
factor (PITX2) with AF had thestrongest association.
Dr Yasuki Kihara (a professor of
Graduate School of Biomedical &Health Sciences at Hiroshima
University)’s team, including Dr.
Syunsuke Tomomori, (a studentof Graduate School of Biomedical& Health Sciences at Hiroshima

University), and Dr. Yukiko
Nakano (an associate professorof Graduate School of Biomedical & Health Sciences at Hiroshima University) clarified the AF
onset mechanism brought by the
PITX2 gene.
We genotyped the PITX2 SNP
rs6817105 in 574 AF patientsand 1,554 non-AF controls from
Hiroshima University. The PITX2
SNP minor allele frequency wassignificantly higher in AF patients
than non-AF controls. In AF patients, sinus node recovery time
was longer and left atrial volume
index was larger in the PITX2
SNP carriers than those in noncarriers. These results suggested that the people with PITX2
gene SNP carriers raised sinus
node dysfunction and left atrial
structural remodeling and weresusceptible to AF pathogenesis.
14

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Shunsuke Tomomori, Yukiko Nakano,
Hidenori Ochi, Akinori Sairaku, Yuko
Onohara,Takehito
Tokuyama,
Chikaaki Motoda, Hiroya Matsumura,Michitaka Amioka, Naoya Hironobe,
MD, Yousaku Ohkubo, Shou Okamura,
Hiroshi Kawazoe, Yukie Nishiyama,
Hidenoshi Tahara, Kazuaki Chayama,
and Yasuki Kihara
Chromosome 4q25 Variant rs6817105
Bring Sinus Node Dysfunction and Left
Atrial Enlargement, Scientific Reports
2018 8(1):14565
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-32453-8

Original Website
Department of cardiovascular medicine,
Graduate School of Biomedical &Health Sciences
https://home.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/cardio-e/

Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine

Identification of a
Critical Regulator of DNA Damage
Response in Hypoxic Cancer Cells

Assistant Prof. Keiji Tanimoto

The development of novel strategies to sensitize cancer cells to irradiations
An international team of researchers led by Dr. Keiji Tanimoto at Research Institute for
Radiation Biology and Medicine
Hiroshima University found how
cancer cells respond to DNA
damages when in low oxygen(hypoxic) conditions. Throughcomprehensive gene expression
analyses, the team determined
how one family of DifferentiatedEmbryo Chondrocyte (DEC) transcription factors controls DNA
damage response, as well as
how they attenuate the effects ofanticancer therapies.

Our bodies have strict molecularmechanisms that help us respond to environments of hypoxia. They also arise in several
diseases such as cancers, resulting in poor prognoses. Understanding how cancer cells
behave in hypoxia may provide
new strategies for tackling cancer. This study leads to the development of drugs that canmodify hypoxic signal, andmake tumors more sensitive toanticancer therapy. In our results, DEC2 is the most effective target of this drug.

This Story is published on
PLoS One. 2018 Feb 21;13(2):e0192136.
doi:
10.1371/
journal.pone.0192136. eCollection
2018.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
pubmed/?term=Tanimoto+bono
Hideaki Nakamura, Hidemasa Bono, Keiko Hiyama, Takeshi Kawamoto,
Yukio
Kato,
TakeshiNakanishi, Masahiko Nishiyama,
Eiso Hiyama, Nobuyuki Hirohashi,
Eisaburo
Sueoka,LorenzPoellinger, Keiji Tanimoto. Differentiated Embryo Chondrocyte
plays a crucial role in DNA damage response via transcriptional
regulation under hypoxic conditions. PLOS ONE 2018, 13(2):e0192136.

Figure 2
Figure 115

Schools and Graduate Schools
Schools

Graduate Schools

For undergraduate level, Hiroshima University
consists of 12 schools which provide undergraduate courses including majors in the natural sciences, humanities, the social sciences, andmany others.

Graduate level studies at Hiroshima University consist of 11 graduate schools including Education, Biomedical & Health Sciences, Engineering, and manyother majors. In addition, two unique program offerings: “The Phoenix Leader Education Program for
Renaissance from Radiation Disaster” and “TheTaoyaka Program for Creating a Flexible, Enduring,and Peaceful Society”, combine graduate level academic coursework with integrative research components.

School of Integrated Arts and Sciences
School of Letters
School of Education
School of Law

Graduate School of Integrated Arts and Sciences

School of Economics

Graduate School of Letters

School of Science

Graduate School of Education

School of Medicine

Graduate School of Social Sciences

School of Dentistry

Graduate School of Science

School of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Graduate School of Advanced Sciences of Matter

School of Engineering

Graduate School of Biomedical & Health Sciences

School of Applied Biological Science

Graduate School of Engineering

School of Informatics and Data Science

Graduate School of Biosphere Science
Graduate School for International Development andCooperation
Hiroshima University Law School

Advanced Course

Graduate School of Integrated Sciences for Life (tobe opened in April 2019)

Special Education Major Program

Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences(to be opened in April 2019)

Interdisciplinary Graduate Educational
Phoenix Leader Education Program (Hiroshima Initiative) for Renaissance from Radiation Disaster(adopted by MEXT), TAOYAKA PROGRAM for creating a flexible, enduring, peaceful society (adopted by
MEXT) and Education Program for Global Environmental Leaders.

16

President Mitsuo Ochi and HU studentsNetworks and Overseas Bases
Overseas Bases
HU has established overseas bases in 15 countries/regions (As of September, 2018)
Number of Overseas Bases 18 (As of September, 2018)

International Exchange Agreements(As of December 30, 2018)
University-level: 327 Agreements with 299 Organizations in 51 Countries/Regions
School / Institute-level: 377 Agreements with 341 Organizations in 52 Countries/Regions

International Students(As of May 1, 2018)
A total of 1,660 students from 73 countries and regions are studying at HU

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Campus Location
Hiroshima University comprises three campuses: vast andgreen Higashi-Hiroshima Campus, and Kasumi Campus andHigashi-Senda Campus, both located in Hiroshima City, a locale whose name resonates with humanity’s quest for international peace and cultural prosperity.

18

Find more about HU
Please visit our website for more details!
■HU Official Website(English) https://www.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/en
Latest News, Events and Research as well as links
to each university section are available from thiswebpage.

■Updates from our Laboratory
https://huscf.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/
This webpage is the source for visitors worldwide tostay updated about what happens in the lab at HU.

Meet Ms. Emma Buchet,
Our new Sci-Com Fellow! (Feb 2019-)
The Research Planning Office(研究企画室) at Hiroshima
University has hired professional science writers through the
Science Communication Fellowship. Fellows represent theinterface between the campus research community and thenonacademic world. They publish science news in English
on the Research Updates website and Social Media. Other
works include Q&A interviews with researchers, photo essays, and short videos.
Contact information:
pr-research@office.hiroshima-u.ac.jp

HU Promotional Video
Hiroshima University Promotional Video is available on
our YouTube channel!

Visit the following webpage to watch
this video.
(YouTube)https://youtu.be/OzZ4YBex8Ps

This video features the university’s leading research including “Genome Editing,” “Research on High-Energy
Astrophysics,” “Regional Promotion,” “Brain Science and
KANSEI,” and “Live-Donor Liver Transplant” as well as
everyday campus scenes. Please also enjoy the beautiful
drone footage of our campuses!

HU SNS Accounts
HU Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/HiroshimaUniv.en

HU You Tube
https://www.youtube.com/user/HiroshimaUniv

HU Research Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/HiroshimaUniversityResearch
HU Research Twitter
https://twitter.com/HU_Research
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HU Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/hiroshima_univ/

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