Four Universities – Kyoto University, University of Tokyo, Osaka University and Nagoya University – have joined forces with the long-term objective of developing a program to train MD researchers who will conduct research into the domains of basic medicine. We are strengthening liaison in our educational setups.

The four universities are reviewing success stories and issues encountered in their training programs hitherto and sharing successes in original initiatives made by each university. Retreats and other events are being organized with Consortium Universities with which each of the four universities is affiliated.

These occasions provide opportunities among teaching staff for sharing problems, issues and opportunities among undergraduates, postgraduates and young researchers for presentations, posters and social interaction.

*Lab Rotation

Students will study medicine by participating in research activities in different labs as part of the MD Researcher Training Program. Through Lab Rotation, students can expose themselves to diverse fields and methods of medical research. They gain an insight into the practical aspects of research which lectures alone will not be able to provide. This is the golden opportunity for them to gage their own aptitude as a researcher, discovering the empirical methods and experimental fields best suited to their inclination. Another benefit is the close contact with a diversity of teaching staff, which will help them in good networking.
In partnership with the Graduate School of Medicine, the Faculty of Medicine instituted the MD-PhD Course in 2001. This Course, designed for students aspiring to be researchers in basic medicine, includes the MD Researcher Training Program with Lab Rotation (*) to allow the students early access to research opportunities. In the MD-PhD Course, the students choose one of its two tracks at the end of Year 4: on Split Track, they take time off from the Faculty, enroll in the Graduate School and, upon obtaining their doctorate, return to the Faculty in Year 5; on Sequential Track, they go on to the Graduate School within two years from graduation from the Faculty to obtain their doctorate after at least three years of enrollment.

Cancer is the leading cause of death in Japan. Because it is now becoming a serious issue affecting the lives and health of Japan’s citizens, in FY2012 the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology established the “Promotion Plan for the Platform of Human Resource Development for Cancer” to foster medical professionals specializing in cancer capable of practicing advanced cancer treatments and cancer research with the aim of promoting the improvement of cancer treatment in Japan. Kyoto University, Mie University, Shiga University of Medical Science, Osaka Medical College, and Kyoto Pharmaceutical University have launched the “Plan for Cultivating Cancer Researchers and Medical Professionals to Lead the Next Generation” and are cooperating to develop top cancer researchers and medical professionals.
Kyoto University is focusing on developing leading researchers of cancer to create new cancer treatments in the hope of contributing to the development of future cancer care with the aim of cultivating human resources that can undertake innovations in the next generation of cancer research and cancer care, and human resources capable of developing new diagnostic techniques, therapies, and care methods.