ISSUE NO.13
MARCH 2021

LEADING GRADUATE SCHOOL
From Chiba University Toward The World

NEWS LETTERBe

Creative Research Leadersin the fields of Immune System Regulation and Innovative Therapeutics

1WELCOME

8th New Members
Name : Maria Alejandra Kanashiro
Affiliation: Department of Innovative Regenerative
Medicine

Theme: Ex-vivo expansion of hematopoietic stem cells
Message: My search for knowledge brought me toJapan, but being part of the LGS program gave me somuch more than I could have asked. To honor thisprivilege, I will dedicate myself to the worthy cause andprovide my skills and experiences to the community. I
hope I would be able to help others just as this program ishelping me.

Name: Keita Ogawa
Affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology
Theme: Tumor microenvironment of hepatocellular
carcinoma

Message: LGS program is the best place that satisfies

my curiosity. In this program, I want to acquire a lot of
new knowledge through communication with experts invarious fields. And I will make the best use of my clinicalexperience as a physician.
I’m looking forward to upcoming exciting encounters andchallenges through the LGS program.

Name : Hiroshi Kikuchi
Affiliation: Department of Neurological Surgery
Theme: Functional anatomy of brain and spinal cord
Message: As I faced many problems that I could notsolve during several years of my clinical experiences, myexpectations towards basic medicine have grown up. I
hope that I can clarify the questions and hypotheses I
have had.
I also hope that I can make new discoveries by interactingwith LGS members from various backgrounds.

2

Therapeutics PracticeDomestic Training in Kawasaki

JUNICHI ISHIKAWA
7th Year LGS Member

On February 17, 2020, my colleagues and I had the first domestic training at the Innovation Center ofNanoMedicine (iCONM). In 2019, Dr. Kataoka Kazunori, the Director-General of iCONM, came to Chiba
University to lecture on nanomedicine. The lecture was very impressive and stimulated us to learn more
about nanomedicine; we, therefore, organized this domestic training program.
iCONM is located in the area called King Skyfront in Kawasaki City. King Skyfront was initially thecenter of the industrial area but has transformed into an advanced biotech area. iCONM is the pioneerof the King Skyfront area and one of the world leaders in developing medical nanomachines. Therefore,many researchers from all over the world are currently visiting them.
This time we were able to receive training in such a famous lab.
The training consisted of:
1. The history of the King Skyfront
2. The overview of the iCONM facilities.
3. A tour of surrounding facilities.
4. A discussion over the main research at iCONM.
5. A lab tour.
One of the most memorable events was a discussion over the research.
We learned cutting-edge research on nanomachines directly from four principal investigators and had
extensive conversations about their research’s future applications. Nanomachines are micellar
compounds composed of a hydrophilic outer shell and a hydrophobic nucleus. By adjusting thehydrophilic outer surface, the nanomachine can reach a targeted location such as a tumor tissue orbrain. The drug component in the core of Nanomachines can then be delivered in a very selectivemanner. Further research will enable us to distribute anything we want to transport to anywhere. It istruly a dream technology.
Although Japan's science and technology has recently been criticized for its stagnation, the training atiCONM has assured us that world-leading research is being conducted in Japan right now.
As the technology at iCONM is very excellent, I would be delighted if iCONM and Chiba University
could conduct joint research in the future. I am very grateful to Dr. Kataoka and the staff of iCONM for
their willingness to allow us to participate in this training program. I would also like to thank the LGS
administration for their diligent cooperation in arranging the domestic training program.
Finally, I strongly recommend that LGS students continue to conduct the domestic training program atiCONM.

3

Therapeutics PracticeOverseas Training
OnlineRotation
LecturesCoursesClass PhotoLaboratory
Six Companies and Two Institutes
Basic Science
Industry toandClinical
Academics
Application

I had web meetings several times with six

companies and two research institutes from
September 2020 to February 2021 asoverseas training. As all of them wereinternationally active organizations, I learned
about various aspects of global activities.
They gave me lectures about their histories,works, and research. Having no experience instarting a company, I was excited to knowhow they underwent the processes andexpand their businesses.
Besides, I got some ideas for my research.
Their business perspective gave me an
excellent opportunity to consider my researchfrom a different point of view. If my research
is applied to business, I can see how mystudy contributes to society. The idea toc o n n e c t r e s e a r c h a n d in d u s t r y s o u n d s
inspiring and exciting to me.

Mr. Uenaka
Representative Director
E.J.Power & Associates Inc

Mr. Uenaka from E.J.Power & Associates Inc.
gave me lectures on the international
business development of medical devices. I
learned about international trading andoverseas operations. I also participated in ameeting with an overseas company torecognize the presentation skills necessary forinternational transactions.
I want to thank all the people who haveprovided me with overseas training. Thanks totheir willingness to accept my request for thistraining, I could have a significant experience.
I want to apply what I have learned to thefuture.
Yoko Ota
5th Year LGS MemberMs. Ota

4EVENTSLGS Opinion Exchange Meeting

T he COVID-19 pandemics have broughtc h a n g e s t o t h e w o r ld , a n d t h e L e a d i n gGraduate School (LGS) at Chiba University is
no exception in this case. For the first timesince its founding, the LGS guidance andopinion exchange meeting was held at thebeginning of October 2020. Despite thedifference in schedule and format of themeeting, the program's spirit in nurturing
future leaders in the field of medical researchremains as high as it can be.
In the opening remarks, Professor Tetsuichiro
Saito – the LGS program coordinator,welcomed the new LGS members and wishedthem to succeed within the program. The newmembers are Maria Alejandra Kanashiro, Keita
Ogawa, and Hiroshi Kikuchi. I believe they will
spark their passion for research at theDepartment of Regenerative Medicine,
Gastroenterology, and Neurological Surgery
for the next four years. The new members also
introduced themselves and shared theirenthusiasm for joining the LGS.
The first presentation of the guidance session
was the LGS program introduction. The 6thyears LGS member, Kazuma Iida explained
program outline and his experiences in theprogram. He also presented the LGS program
features, including rotation opportunities,
overseas training, and domestic internships inpharmaceutical and biotech companies. Laterduring the guidance, Professor Shinichiro
Motohashi explained the LGS rotation.

Reciprocating
the spirit of always
aim higher

Every LGS member has to go throughlaboratory rotation to grasp the latest researchdevelopment in various medical research
fields. This rotation is one of the hallmarks ofthe LGS program in nurturing future researchleaders.
Another unique feature of the LGS is theWinter Camp, in which the LGS students
present ideas and plans about future start-up
enterprises. During this guidance session, 6thyear LGS member Alimu Yikelamu presented
the LGS Winter Camp to the new members.
He was on the winning team in the WinterCamp 2019, which proposed implementing a
Smart Doctor Platform during the Tokyo 2020
Olympic Games.
The last presentation of this meeting wasdelivered by Hiroki Kano, the 7th year memberof LGS. He presented his eye-opening
overseas training experiences at
pharmaceutical research companies in San
Diego, California, USA. He met and discussedwith researchers at the forefront of the globalrace to bring therapeutic and diagnostic
inventions into real life.
In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic indeed
brought some adjustment to the LGS
guidance and student meeting session. It isalso evident that the LGS program remains
vibrant and solid to achieve its vision:
nurturing creative research leaders.
Maulana A. Empitu
6th Year LGS Member

5EVENTSLGS Winter Camp 2021

Exactly one year after the last time, the 7th

Winter Camp was held at Chiba University
Inohana Campus on February 1st, 2021. The
event's objective was to design a businessplan in line with a given topic and present it tothe judges. This year's topic was "medicalproblems and solutions in with/post-COVID19 era". The 7th and 8th-year LGS students
were divided into two groups, and each teamworked hard on their projects for the last few
months.
From the beginning, this year’s organizationand logistics were challenging because of theCOVID-19 pandemic. The first challenge wasless contact with others. Since most classes
w ere held online d u e t o t h e e m e r g e n c yd e c la r a t io n , f ir s t - y e a r s t u d e n t s h a d n oopportunities to know and interact with eachother; not to mention with senior ones. Whenthe new members finally met the others,
several months had already passed since thebeginning of the school year. Therefore, thisevent was the first time the new and current
members interacted.
The second was the flexibility to make all
possible measures and changes. We had tow ork a s a u n it w h ile m a in t a in in g s o c ia l
distance. To minimize close interactions asmuch as possible, the organizers decided toreduce the event's duration from an entire day
to just two hours. Sadly, this also resulted inscaling down the number of participants.

Therefore, specials guests, who alw ays
provided exciting insights, were not able toattend this year. Additionally, sanitary
measures were also taking place, such as
hand-disinfectants, personal microphones,
regular ventilation, and thorough cleaning of
the space.
The final was the limited time. Since there wasno time to revise our business plan, we hadjust one opportunity to show our service'sstrength, usefulness, and practicality. We evenprepared some answers for the possiblequestions.
After many long hours invested in corrections
and practices, finally we were ready for theevent.
The Winter Camp started with a warm
message from Dr. Motohashi. Next, our group,
HO-Net, presented our business plan of asearch engine that locates the hospital, whichfits best to the patient's needs in real-time.
The patient would upload his symptoms into
the software, and the algorithm would inform
him which hospital to get treatment. On theother hand, the Hubmed group proposed a
medical device delivery system. A motilityrestricted patient would call a doctor, whowould then have Hubmed deliver a medicaldevice (such as a pulse oximeter) to thepatient's home for further examination.
Following each presentation, the judges asked
each group about the business models and6EVENTSLGS Winter Camp 2021(Continued)

made insightful suggestions. After careful
deliberation, the Hubmed group was awarded
as this year's winner. The event reached its
conclusion with a group photo.
Business planning would be a useful skill todevelop in the future. As future leaders, weneed to think creatively and consider how we
can turn our creations into profit. Allconstructive criticisms and inquiries from thejud ges m ad e us r e f le c t o n o u r p r o je c t ’ s
weaknesses, which would undoubtedly
improve next year's winter camp.
Thanks to the occasion, I had the opportunity
to work with other professionals with different
views, backgrounds, and knowledge. Every
member brought an enlightening perspective.
Physicians were well-aware of the burden thevirus has carried. Foreigners delineated theinconveniences when looking for a hospital in
Japan and described medical systems in theirrespective countries. Seniors narrated theirprevious camp experiences and provided theguidelines to plan the business model. Even
though English was not a mother tongue of any,
I did not feel it was a barrier to express ouropinions.
Although it was a pity not to have an afterparty, I hope we can have other opportunities
to meet and work with them again. In themeantime, we will stay safe.
Maria Alejandra Kanashiro
8th Year LGS Member

7

STUDENT EXPERIENCETherapeutics Seminar of Leading Program
Therapeutics Seminar of Leading Program
21 Laboratory Units
Basic Science to Clinical Application

The therapeutics seminar of leading program was held throughout the year. It consistedof twenty-one units conducted by researchers and health care workers who were experts
in the respective fields.
We acquired general analytical techniques such as flow cytometer, immunohistochemistry,
and chromatin immunoprecipitation. Furthermore, we learned the latest research topics
regarding infectious diseases, drug development, and drug disposition. In particular, we
received lectures on the latest clinical strategy to treat adult tumors and rare diseases andprevent allergy.
At the end of the course, we each devised a clinical research plan to conquer a target
disease. Clinical research needs a logical and realizable evidence-based plan. Keeping thatin mind, we tried to make clinical protocols to resolve the problems and limitations of thecurrent therapies. Since we had never undertaken real clinical research, we discussed withexperts about our plans and received pieces of advice from them. That was such avaluable opportunity for us.
Based on our experiences in the therapeutics seminar of leading program, we have been
researching with broader perspectives and an understanding of clinical demands.
Ayana Ishii
7th Year LGS Member

8

STUDENT EXPERIENCEAdvanced General Education

The "Advanced General Education" is a program designed for Leading Graduate School
students and Innovative Medicine CHIBA Doctoral WISE Program students to obtain a newperspective and broaden horizons.
This program's feature is that students organize the whole lectures, including selecting andnegotiating with candidate lecturers. With the help and advice from Prof. Tetsuichiro Saito, weinvited 15 foremost specialists with a wide variety of topics: Historical science, History ofartificial limbs, Genetics, Computer science, Political history, Nuclear science, Robotics,Communication information system, Molecular science, Food biochemistry, Automotiveengineering, International politics, Innovation in Endoscopy, and so on. All of the lectures wereinnovative and stimulating for us.
Although most of the lectures had to be held online due to the pandemic of COVID-19, there
was a good point in this situation. That is, the widespread use of online meeting enabled us totake lectures provided from overseas. If it were pre-COVID era, we would have given up inviting
lecturers who were outside of Japan.
Furthermore, these special lecturers gave us important messages about how they have beensuccessful and how to accomplish innovative works. I felt that the common denominator
among these innovators is that they have always been unsatisfied with the current situation andhave repeatedly gone through trial and error with unconventional thinking. They thus succeeded
to deliver better products to people.
Through these lectures, we could acquire a wide range of knowledge and get the ability to seek
solutions to various problems we may face in the future from multiple directions.
Terunao Iwanaga
7th Year LGS Member9MESSAGE

From Graduating Members
Name: Masashi Yamamoto
Affiliation: Department of Endocrinology, Hematology,and Gerontology
Message: Marcel Proust said, “The real voyage ofdiscovery consists not in seeking landscapes, but inhaving new eyes.” The LGS program became a useful
guide of my voyage because it helped me acquire manyskills necessary for researchers and gain new points ofview. This program provided a lot of opportunities tointeract with people from various fields. I will make use ofwhat I have learned here and strive to become a global
leader. Lastly, I would like to thank all the instructors, staff,
and colleagues for their continuous support.

Name: Kota Kokubo
Affiliation: Department of Immunology
Message: Through the valuable lectures, the LGS

program gave me various insights that I could not obtain
only from my lab works. In the program, I could havechances to discuss with people who have multiple
backgrounds, such as scientists in the various research
fields of academia, drug industries, and entrepreneurs ofBio-Venture. All experiences that I gained during my timeas an LGS member will undoubtedly become my life’s
assets. I greatly appreciate all the support and cooperationfrom LGS.

Name: Yuriko Yamazaki
Affiliation: Department of Dermatology
Message: The life as a graduate student was way morechallenging than I expected. As I didn’t have any basic
research knowledge, I struggled with everything: reading
papers, setting goals, planning experiments, and giving
presentations. Nevertheless, I enjoyed learning every
single step thanks to many people who supported me
through a tough time. Among them, I especially thank theLGS faculty and staff for giving opportunities to meetvarious excellent researchers and students. These
precious experiences motivated me and made me realize
several carrier paths possible after the Ph.D. course.
Indeed, graduating is just a step—I am looking forward tothe next goal.

10WE WISH
“The Best for All Of You”
Name: Yoko Ota
Affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology andOncologyMessage: T h e L G S p r o g r a m g a v e m e a l o t o fopportunities. I attended various lectures and practicaltrainings to learn a wide range of know-hows about
research and business as well as the knowledge andskills necessary for my research during my graduate
school life. Thanks to this program, I have gained aglobal perspective and expanded my possibilities for mylife. I will make use of these experiences in my career. I
want to thank members and staff for supporting me.

Name: Tadamichi Kasuya
Affiliation: Department of Allergy and Clinical
Immunology

Message: I had a fruitful time in the LGS program. This

program gave me ample opportunities to learn cuttingedge knowledge in various fields and improve my English
skills. I want to make the most of what I have learned in
the past four years after graduation. Besides, the best
asset I gained during my graduate school years was myfriends. I am proud of working with them and grateful for
their cooperation. I also appreciate the generous support
from all the LGS staff and teachers.

Name: Takuya MinamizukaAffiliation: Department of Endocrinology, Hematology

and Gerontology
Message: The LGS program allowed me to participate
in international conferences held in Japan and also
Geneva training programs. Enthusiastic seniors andcolleagues inspired me to improve my research expertiseand language skills and enhance my research motivation. I
want to continue to face science on a global scale withconviction after graduation. I am very grateful to mycolleagues and the staff of the LGS program.

CONTACT
Leading Graduate School at Chiba UniversityTEL.+81-43-226-2817 FAX.+81-43-226-2857
E-mail:lgs-jimu@chiba-u.jp
URL:https://www.m.chiba-u.jp/dept/lgs/
1-8-1 Inohana Chuo-ku Chiba-city, Chiba 260-8675
JAPAN