[Sep.23] D5 Medical & Life Science Seminar-Dr. Masanori Nakayama

September 14 2020

The "D5 Medical & Life Science Seminar" course will be offered by International Research Center for Medical Sciences (IRCMS). It will run from April 2020 to March 2021, with lectures given by scientists who are affiliated with IRCMS or in collaboration with researchers at IRCMS. The lectures will be given once a month, in English, and by leading scientists in the relevant research field. Students will be taught: 1) how normal physiological functions are maintained in the human body; 2) how these systems become abnormal under certain pathophysiologic conditions; 3) why stem cells are important in animal development and homeostasis; 4) how stem cell-based approaches can help us understand disease mechanisms and find potential cure for diseases related to stem cell malfunction (e.g., cancer, aging).

Date       : September 23, 2020 (Wednesday)
Time      : 16:30 -
              * Zoom online seminar
               To receive the meeting ID / Password, please send an email to
               ircms@jimu.kumamoto-u.ac.jp by noon on September 23, 2020.
               Please include your name, affiliation, grade and student number in your email.
Speaker : Masanori Nakayama, PhD
                Group Leader,
                Max-Planck-Institute for Heart and Lung Research
Title        : The effort to fill the gap between academic research and drug discovery

Abstract :

　Basic research in academia is important for providing innovative targets and ideas for drug discovery. While a huge effort for the promotion of research and development based on collaboration between academia and pharmaceutical companies is examined, there remains the "Valley of Death" to be filled. Max Planck Society established the Lead Discovery Center (LDC) in 2008 to overcome this gap. LDC develops top level basic research results in Max Planck Society and beyond into intellectual properties for licensing out to industry or VC partners. Within the last decade, LDC has been proven as a successful model for tech transfer in drug discovery, resulting in a strong brand in mid Europe. Meanwhile, academic scientists, funders including governmental funding agencies and pharmaceutical companies in Japan are struggling with this process. After communicating with Japanese scientists, government officials, and a politician, they appreciate the importance of a LDC model as a blueprint in the field. Based on my research experience with LDC, here I would like explain philosophy and detail of LDC.

Link

1. https://www.lead-discovery.de/en/