RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology (CDB)
2-2-3 Minatojima minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe 650-0047, Japan


CDB holds intensive lecture program for area students
PDF Download

September 28, 2004 – As part of its commitment fostering to the next generation of researchers into developmental biology, the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology (CDB) has entered into agreements with a number of universities and graduate school programs in the Kansai area allowing CDB research staff to give lectures at partner institutions and host graduate students in their labs. The CDB extended the range of its interactions with academia in September 2004 by holding a two-day intensive lecture program intended to provide students with a first-hand look at the work being done at the Center. In addition to a series of lectures by CDB staff, the program, held on September 6 and 7, included laboratory visits, scientific exhibits and demonstrations, and was attended by 130 students from local graduate programs and across Japan.


Students attend a lecture on C. elegans genomics in the CDB auditorium

 

Center Director Masatoshi Takeichi welcomed attendees on the morning of the first day, followed by a brief overview of the program schedule by Yoshiki Sasai (Laboratory for Organogenesis and Neurogenesis) leading into the first session “Basic Development and Regeneration.” Speakers from 5 CDB labs, including Kiyokazu Agata (Laboratory for Evolutionary Regeneration Biology) spoke on a range of topics from organogenesis to the developmental genomic of C. elegans to body axis formation. Participants were invited to visit the lab of their choice following the conclusion of the session for a chance to CDB staff about the work being done in their labs and ask about life as a research scientist.

The second day of the program opened with a session on “Stem Cell Biology and Basic Medicine,” featuring talks on inducing differentiation in stem cells, stem cell function in cell metabolism and potential clinical applications. Hiroki R Ueda (Laboratory for Systems Biology) closed the session with a talk on the systems biology of biological clocks. The afternoon program included a hands-on demonstration of micromanipulator technique by Teruhiko Wakayama (Laboratory for Genomic Reprogramming), a tour of bioinformatics facilities, and an exhibition on stem cell biology.



Observing embryonic development up close

 

The program concluded with an open discussion forum held to encourage exchanges between the student visitors and CDB research staff, which saw lively discussion on questions such as what the next twenty or thirty years holds for the future of research. Typhoon 18 hit Kobe squarely on the evening of September 7, but participants and staff rode out the storm enjoying drinks and conversation at a mixer held in the Center lounge.




[ Contact ]
Douglas Sipp : sipp@cdb.riken.jp
TEL : +81-78-306-3043
RIKEN CDB, Office for Science Communications and International Affairs


Copyright (C) CENTER FOR DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY All rights reserved.