2018 Amgen Scholars Japan Symposium held at Kyoto University (2–3 August 2018)

發表日期

2018/09/05

On 2–3 August, Kyoto University hosted the 2018 Amgen Scholars Japan Symposium at Shiran-Kaikan.

The symposium is held every year with support from the Amgen Foundation and as part of the summertime Amgen Scholars Japan Program, which is hosted by Kyoto University and the University of Tokyo, for undergraduate students from Japan and abroad. The event provides a platform for program participants — the "Amgen Scholars" — to present their learning outcomes, and to interact with professional researchers. Approximately 150 participants, including 44 Amgen Scholars from Kyoto and Tokyo, took part in this year's event.

Day one began with greetings from Dr Shinsuke Kawazoe, Kyoto University’s executive vice-president for student affairs and library services, and Mr Steve Sugino, president of Amgen Astellas BioPharma KK (AABP). The morning session concluded with Dr John Dunlop, Amgen Inc's vice president of neuroscience research, discussing his research and career in a keynote entitled “Unlocking the Potential of Biology for Patients”.

The afternoon featured oral and poster presentations from participants in the KyotoU-hosted program, with the program's director, Professor Fuyuki Ishikawa of the Graduate School of Biostudies, offering feedback. The final session of the day was a lecture by Professor Shin-Ichiro Takahashi from the UTokyo Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences.

The second day opened with a lecture by Professor Mitinori Saitou of the KyotoU Graduate School of Medicine. Amgen Scholars from Tokyo then delivered oral and poster presentations on their learning outcomes, followed by feedback and comments from the program's director, Professor Ichiro Sakuma of the UTokyo Graduate School of Engineering.

In the afternoon, students toured the Center for iPS Cell Research and Application (CiRA), before attending a poster award ceremony where the winners were announced by the program directors.

The two-day event closed on a high note with addresses from Ms Toyoko Endo, AABP's corporate affairs manager, and Dr Masao Kitano, Kyoto University’s executive vice-president for education, information infrastructure, and evaluation. The speakers offered the students their words of encouragement and best wishes for future success.