EVENTS

Date and Time

Thursday, July 15, 2010 13:00-17:45
1st floor Lecture Hall and Entrance, Main Office Building, RIKEN Yokohama Institute

Schedule

If you would like to join this party, please send your name, group affiliation, position to yu.shimoda@riken.jp by Wednesday, June 30. If not, pre-registration isn't required.

Our aim is to encourage young scientists who will carry forward the next generation of the life sciences. We look forward to your active participation and a lively exchange of views.

Inquiries

Yu Shimoda, Yokohama Research Promotion Division, Planning Section
TEL:045-503-9121
Ext:94-2232
Email:yu.shimoda@riken.jp

Grant from: The Tokyo Club

The objective of the GSC Tanabata Meeting         --- Akiyoshi Wada, Director, RIKEN GSC

The GSC Tanabata Meeting is intended to provide young scientists (under 40 years old) who have not yet made substantial research achievements, but who have came up with marvelous, sparkling ideas, with an opportunity to present their research results. Before going into details, I would like to explain the background and basic idea behind this event.

1. 1.  Historical background Dissolution of GSCenter and establishment of GSComplex

The RIKEN Genomic Sciences Center (GSC) evolved out of my research work, and I served as the first GSC director. The center grew over time but was finally closed in March 2008. Over the decade of its existence GSC attracted considerable attention within the international scientific community, as can be seen by the many articles related to GSC that appeared in Nature (http://www.nature.com/nature/index.html). If you search the journal for Genomic Sciences Center, you will see more than 150 news items, evaluations and original papers).
In order to preserve GSC's highly evaluated and well-known international name, Professor Ryoji Noyori, RIKEN's president, decided to rename and redevelop GSC using the same acronym. This is how the virtual organization RIKEN Genomic Sciences Research Complex (GSC) came to be established in April 2008, and I am currently serving as the Director of the new GSComplex.

2. 2.  The Aim of the GSC Tanabata Meeting . A Gateway to Success for Young Scientists

GSComplex was set up without any specific fixed budget, but I have a longstanding policy of using my head when there is no money, and I thought of the GSC Tanabata Meeting as a novel way to gather worldwide attention. Still, our budget and staff are very limited, and while the former GSC was certainly highly regarded internationally, it did exist for only 10 years. What we can do is limited so we must be sharply focused. And this is how I got the idea for an interactive session to encourage the young scientists who will carry forward the next generation of the life sciences. The theme for this year's program is: Young Scientists and the Next Generation of the Life Sciences.

1. 1. In principle, no older than age 40
2. 2. Without substantial research achievements, but with marvelous and sparkling ideas
3. 3. Have a unique and brilliant idea with great potential
4. 4. Discovered or invented a methodology or model relevant to the life sciences
5. 5. Produced research results that will contribute to the future of the life sciences, made a discovery, or invented a methodology or model



Our aim is that many young scientists will consider it an honor to be asked to make a presentation at the GSC Tanabata Meeting, and that they will perceive the event as an important gateway to success.
In addition, I wanted to attract brilliant young Japanese scientists abroad who are researching in other countries and provide them an opportunity to give a presentation here in Japan.
I hope many young scientists will be encouraged and motivated if they can win recognition for even just one unique idea. The GSC Tanabata meeting is not a forum to pass out awards but to encourage young researchers and help them to become known in the scientific community.

3. 3.  A GSComplex Forum for the Future

Even though the research objective of GSC was genomics, the underlying innovative ideology was to use cutting-edge physics and chemistry methodologies to tackle diverse life science issues. In particular our challenge was to apply successful data-driven and instrument-driven paradigms from other sciences to the life sciences. The result was the creation of an internationally recognized state-of-the-art research center.
The field of genomics is extensive, however, and if we deal only with genomics we will quickly be buried beneath the international achievements that are being made in the rest of the world. As I have already pointed out, this is why we must be sharply focused. I believe the GSC Tanabata Meeting's purpose of providing a forum for the unexpected and outstanding ideas of young scientists is a unique focus that should gather worldwide attention.
This first year, for reasons of both time and money, we have restricted our target to scientists (of any nationality) working in Japanese research institutions and to Japanese scientists who are now overseas. As the idea for this project takes hold, however, and we have the good fortune to be able to expand the event on a global scale, I believe we will be making a giant step toward internationalizing the life sciences of Japan.