GOALS OF THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR BASIC BIOLOGY
In the pursuit of progress in the field of biology, The
National Institute for Basic Biology (NIBB) has set fivegoals regarding its activities. We consequently contribute to
the world-wide community of biologists through our efforts
to achieve these goals.
International cooperation
Contribution to the community of biologists

Promotion of collaborative
research projects

Developmentof new fields

Promotion ofacademic research

Cultivation offuture researchers

Promotion of academic research

One of our goals is the promotion of academic research, andthis is accomplished through our research activities, which
we will introduce throughout this brochure.

Promotion of Collaborative Research Projects■ Collaborative Research SupportResearch activities that are conducted using NIBB’s facilities and in collaboration with NIBB’s divisions/laboratories are solicited from external researchers. “IndividualCollaborative Research Projects” are a basic method ofsupporting collaborations which provide external researchers with travel and lodging expenses when visiting NIBB’slaboratories to conduct collaborative research. The“Collaborative research projects for new model organism
development” and “Collaborative Research Projects for
Bioresource Preservation Technology Development” projectsare for developing and establishing new model organisms
and new research technology. Research and travel expenses
are provided for these projects. ‘Collaborative Research
Projects for Integrative Genomics’ and ‘Collaborative
Research Projects for Integrative Bioimaging’ are projects tofacilitate a more integrated use of the NIBB Core Research
Facilities and to allow more intensive support through theplanning, experimental, data analysis, and publication stages.
Travel and lodging expenses are also provided for theseprojects.
year2019 2020 2021

Priority collaborative research projects

11―

Collaborative research projects for newmodel organism development―

23

Collaborative research projects for modelorganism and technology development

2――

Individual collaborative research projects

604642

Collaborative research projects for integrativegenomics

665658Collaborative research projects for integrative
bioimaging

221924NIBB workshops

324

Collaborative experiments using the Large
Spectrograph

9911

Support for NIBB training courses

000

Collaborative research projects for bioresource
preservation technology development

141010Total

177145152■ National BioResource Project

The National BioResource Project (NBRP) is a national
project for the systematic accumulation, storage and supplyof nationally recognized bio-resources (i.e., experimentalanimals and plants, cells, DNA and other genetic resources),
which are widely used as materials in life science research.
To promote this national project, NIBB has been selected
as a center for research on Medaka (Oryzia latipes), whose
usefulness as a vertebrate model was first demonstrated byJapanese researchers. The usability of Medaka as a researchmaterial in biology has drawn increasing attention since its
full genome sequence became available. NIBB is also a subcenter for the NBRP’s work with Japanese morning gloriesand Zebrafish (p. 101-102).

■ I nter-University Bio-Backup Project for Basic
Biology (IBBP)To prevent damage caused by natural disasters to importantbiological resources, NIBB has managed the Inter-University
Bio-Backup Project for Basic Biology (IBBP) from 2012
in collaboration with seven national universities for multiplicate preservation of genetic libraries and other invaluablebioresources used in cutting-edge research (p. 103-104).

■ Advanced Bioimaging Support (ABiS)

ABiS provides assistance pertaining to advanced imaging inresearch supported by Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research.
NIBB and NIPS contribute as core institutes to the ABiS
network of domestic partner organizations that own andoperate multiple types of advanced specialized imagingequipment. In 2018, ABiS joined the Global Bioimaging(GBI) network to represent the Japanese bioimaging community. ABiS also hosts training courses (p. 116-117).

International Cooperation■ Collaborative Programs with Overseas Institutes

NIBB has formed an agreement with Center for Organismal
Studies (COS) Heidelberg to promote joint research projects,
collaborative symposia, and student exchange programs. The
2nd and 3rd meeting for NIBB-COS Heidelberg Internatinal
Collaborations were held in June, 2021 and March, 2022 (p.
112). In these meeting, several discussions on new collaborative research were put forward.
NIBB plays a leading role in collaborative research
programs between Princeton University and the National
Institutes of Natural Sciences (NINS) on the life science
research field. Collaborative research projects between NIBB
and Princeton University are conducted under the support ofthe International Research Collaboration Center (IRCC) ofthe NINS (p. 112). NIBB also promotes personal and technological exchange with the European Molecular Bioloigy
Laboratory (EMBL) based on the academic exchange agreement between the EMBL and the NINS.

■ NIBB Conference

The NIBB Conferences are international conferences onprominent topics in biology that are organized by NIBBprofessors. Since the first conference in 1977 (the yearof NIBB’s founding), NIBB Conferences have provided
researchers in basic biology with valuable opportunities for5

international exchange. Unfortunately, this year’s NIBB conference was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Development of New Fields of Biology■ Establishment of new model organism

NIBB is working to establish novel model organisms inorder to advance research on biological phenomena that areinteresting but have been poorly analyzed.

Cultivation of Future Researchers■ Ph.D. program

NIBB constitutes the Department of Basic Biology in theSchool of Life Science of SOKENDAI (Graduate Universityfor Advanced Studies). The department provides a five-year
doctoral course for university graduates and a three-year
doctoral course for graduate students with a master’s degree.
Additionally, graduate students enrolled in other universities
can apply to be special research students eligible to conduct
research under the supervision of NIBB professors. In anycase, graduate students can receive financial support fromNIBB based on the research assistant (RA) system from thebeginning of the five-year course.
Due to its international collaboration with EMBL, graduate
students are encouraged to attend PhD student symposia held
at EMBL at least once during their doctoral program, where
they are provided with an opportunity to give oral and poster
presentations.
Students from Japan and abroad can also come to NIBB
through our Internship Program. Internships give students
an excellent opportunity to build international connections
while experiencing hands on research in a world class institute (p. 118).

605040Graduate Students Educated by NIBB
(numbers counted at the end of April each year)
111337

611939363620172018

2019

42473638

2020

2021

2022

30
201002016■ SOKENDAI Graduate Student■ Outreach■ Special Research Student

NIBB’s outreach activities aim to present cutting edge
research results to the public via mass media through press
releases or directly through internet-based platforms (i.e.
web pages, Facebook, and Twitter). NIBB also cooperates inthe education of undergraduate and young students throughlectures and workshops (p.119-123).

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