◆Winners of the 2019 Kochi University Research Recognition Program (Award for Outstanding Research Achievements, Award for Excellence in Research by Early-Career Faculty, and Graduate Student Research Encouragement Award) Have Been Selected
Release Date:
The recipients of the Kochi University Research Recognition Awards for the 2019 academic year (Research Achievement Award, Outstanding Research Award for Young Faculty, and Graduate Student Research Encouragement Award) have been selected.
The purpose of this research recognition program is to encourage research among accomplished researchers, early-career faculty members, and graduate students by having the President commend those who have conducted outstanding research, thereby aiming to revitalize and further advance research at our university.
In the 2019 academic year, two recipients of the Research Achievement Award, three recipients of the Young Faculty Research Excellence Award, and three recipients of the Graduate Student Research Encouragement Award were selected as researchers with promising potential for future success. An award ceremony presided over by the President is scheduled to be held for the recipients in the near future.
≪Award for Outstanding Research Achievements≫
■ Motonari Saito (Professor, Department of Basic Medical Sciences, School of Medicine)
Professor Saito authored a paper summarizing the pathogenesis and treatment of testicular dysfunction caused by testicular torsion, a condition he has studied for over 10 years, and received the “International Journal of Urology Top Cited Article Award of the Year 2018.”This award is presented to the corresponding author of the most-cited paper published in the *International Journal of Urology*, the official journal of the internationally renowned Japanese Urological Association and the Asian Urological Association.
In addition, within his Department of Pharmacology, he is engaged in research on lower urinary tract and prostate diseases, the central control mechanisms of stress responses, and the role of glial cells in the sequelae of brain diseases.He has contributed to raising the academic standards of Kochi University by guiding department members to win numerous domestic and international awards, both within and outside the university, such as the Academic Encouragement Award from the Japanese Pharmacological Society and the Society Award from the Japanese Society of Urinary Function. Furthermore, he has mentored department members to win the globally prestigious “Ananias Diokno-Jack Lapides Essay Contest” for three consecutive years starting in 2016.
■ Yumiko Hashida (Assistant Professor, Division of Basic Medical Sciences, School of Medicine)
Dr. Hashida has achieved significant research results in the fields of infectious diseases and oncology, with 12 papers as first author and 13 co-authored papers published in international scientific journals. In particular, her research elucidating the ecology of human skin viruses and their association with disease resulted in four papers published in the *Journal of Infectious Diseases*, the official journal of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, over a period of three and a half years.
His achievement in identifying a specific genetic sequence that can distinguish whether a host is Japanese (East Asian) or not based on the genotype of polyomaviruses resident in the skin was recognized as original research and featured in various newspapers and online news outlets. Furthermore, for this achievement, he received the 2019 Japan Society for Infectious Diseases Award for Outstanding Research Papers, which is presented to researchers who have published original English-language papers demonstrating outstanding research in the field of infectious diseases.
I am also actively engaged in securing external funding, such as Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research and other grants.
≪Outstanding Research Award for Young Faculty≫
■ Koji Akogi (Assistant Professor, Department of Clinical Medicine, School of Medical Sciences)
Dr. Akogi is conducting research on the mechanisms underlying pain in osteoarthritis of the knee (knee OA), a widespread condition affecting the general population. Through experiments using human tissue and rats, he has demonstrated that: (1) nerve growth factor expression in the knee, (2) osteoclast activity in subchondral bone, (3) synovitis,④ sensory nerve proliferation at the osteochondral junction are involved in knee OA pain. All of these findings have been highly regarded as highly innovative research results.
In addition to having papers published in the highly influential international journal *Arthritis & Rheumatology* (IF 9.002), he has achieved numerous accomplishments, including receiving various awards at academic conferences both in Japan and abroad (the International Osteoarthritis Society 2019 Award, the Encouragement Award at the 47th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society for Joint Diseases, and the Best Presentation Award at the 12th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society for Musculoskeletal Pain).
■ Goichiro Uramoto (Special Appointed Assistant Professor, Marine Core Research Center)
While specializing in geology, Dr. Uramoto conducts research using interdisciplinary approaches that integrate fields such as microbiology and soil science.His major research achievements include the world’s first discovery that deep-sea sediments in the open ocean of the South Pacific Ring Basin contain 100 million to 1 billion iron-manganese oxide microparticles—each measuring just a few micrometers in diameter—per cubic centimeter of sediment. He also determined that these microparticles retain vast amounts of metal in a particulate form deep beneath the seafloor.
Furthermore, in fiscal year 2019, as the project manager for a project selected under the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) Sakura Science Plan, I dedicated my efforts to organizing the Center for Integrated Marine Core Research’s first “International Core School,” thereby contributing to the international revitalization of the marine scientific drilling field promoted by the Center.
■ Yuhō Kitazaki (Lecturer, Division of Humanities and Social Sciences, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences)
Dr. Kitazaki specializes in the history of the Japanese language and is conducting research on semantic and syntactic changes in Japanese, particularly the factors underlying and the derivational processes involved in the “subordination of imperative forms.”
In terms of research achievements in the history of Japanese grammar and foundational research on the history of the Japanese language, he has published 13 single-authored papers, 5 co-authored papers, 1 co-authored book, and 1 encyclopedia entry over the past three years. For a portion of these research achievements, he was awarded the “2019 Shinmura Izuru Research Encouragement Award,” which is given to young researchers in the fields of linguistics and Japanese language studies.
I am also actively engaged in research activities outside the university, including participating in collaborative research for large-scale projects and serving on the organizing committees of academic societies.
≪Graduate Student Research Encouragement Award≫
■ Takaaki Niitake (2nd-year PhD student, Department of Medicine)
Mr. Niitake is conducting research on the theme of “Elucidating the mechanisms underlying the worsening of post-stroke sequelae and developing therapeutic agents,” focusing on microglia and zinc ions, which are essential trace elements for living organisms.Specifically, he has elucidated that zinc ions, which are excessively released from glutamatergic neurons in the hippocampus immediately after cerebral ischemia, act as an endogenous activator that exacerbates the inflammatory response of activated microglia. He has also demonstrated that this exacerbation is involved in the onset of dementia, one of the most severe sequelae of stroke.
To date, he has authored four original English-language research papers (including one as first author) and one review article. Furthermore, he has presented 25 times as the first presenter at specialized academic conferences both in Japan and abroad, receiving nine awards, including the Outstanding Presentation Award (4 times at international conferences and 21 times at domestic conferences).
■ Tomohiro Ishida (4th-year PhD student, Department of Medicine)
Mr. Ishida is conducting research aimed at applying substances derived from natural resources to medical care. Given that Kochi Prefecture has a higher proportion of elderly residents compared to the national average, he has focused on age-related declines in muscle mass and strength (sarcopenia). His research theme is the prevention of sarcopenia using Kampo medicines (tonics) designed to boost physical strength in clinical settings where patients exhibit frailty, fatigue, and lethargy.
To date, he has actively engaged in research activities and secured external funding, including the publication of four papers (two of which he authored as first author), winning the “Outstanding Student Presentation Award” at the 138th Annual Meeting of the Pharmaceutical Society of Japan, being selected for the FY2018 Kochi Prefecture Industry-Academia-Government Collaboration Industrial Creation Research Promotion Project, and conducting joint research with private companies.
■ Fumi Aoyama (4th-year PhD student, Department of Medicine)
Dr. Aoyama is engaged in basic research on the topic of “chronic pain in the elderly” and received the 15th Academic Award from the Japanese Society of Neuroanesthesia and Critical Care. He is also conducting research on “the efficacy of neurosteroids as a novel treatment for postoperative delirium.”
He has presented his research findings to date as the first author at the Japanese Society of Anesthesiologists, the Japanese Society of Intensive Care Medicine, the International Society of Intensive Care Medicine (Melbourne), and the International Society of Regional Anesthesia (New York). He is also actively engaged in research activities across various fields, including serving as an instructor at the Japanese Society of Anesthesiologists’ symposium (“Team-Based Approaches to Postoperative Delirium”) and the Japanese Society of Regional Anesthesia.