【Event Report】The 41st Kumamoto Biomedicine Symposium | 第41回 熊本医学・生物科学シンポジウム

June 4 2026

The 41st Kumamoto Biomedicine Symposium, hosted by IRCMS, was held over three days from May 18 to 20, 2026, at the Kusunoki Terrace of Kumamoto University Hospital.

Centered on the theme "Hemovascular System throughout Life," the symposium brought together distinguished speakers from world-renowned institutions.

We were also honored to receive a greeting from President Hisao Ogawa of Kumamoto University during the symposium.

Cutting-edge presentations on clonal hematopoiesis, inflammatory memory, and tissue-specific vascular specialization were given by both invited speakers and our university's professors, alongside poster sessions by graduate students and postdoctoral researchers. This provided a platform for sharing pioneering insights, exchanging ideas, and networking among domestic and international researchers, offering an outstanding opportunity for international exchange--particularly for young researchers. Additionally, dedicated opportunities were provided to further deepen international connections among speakers and researchers from both inside and outside the university.

This served as invaluable time for building foundations for international collaborative research, bringing the event to a highly successful close.

We would like to express our deepest gratitude to all the attendees, speakers, organizing committee members, and corporate sponsors whose dedication and support made this event possible.

We look forward to welcoming you all again in the near future.

IRCMSが主催する第41回 熊本医学・生物科学シンポジウムが、2026年5月18日〜20日の3日間、熊本大学病院 くすのきテラスにて開催されました。

本シンポジウムでは、「ライフコースにおける血液脈管システム」をテーマに、世界的に著名な機関より講演者の先生方をお迎えいたしました。
また、本学学長の小川先生よりご挨拶をいただきました。

クローン性造血、炎症記憶、組織特異的血管特殊化に関する最先端のお話や、学院生およびポスドク研究員によるポスターセッションも行われ、国内外の研究者による最先端の知見や深い情報交換や交流の場となり、若手研究者の皆様にとっても素晴らしい国際交流の機会となりました。

さらに、講演者や学内外研究者の国際的な交流をさらに深めるための場も設けられ、国際共同研究基盤を築くための大切な時間となり、盛況のうちに幕を閉じました。

ご参加いただいた皆様、ご登壇の先生方、ならびに開催にご尽力いただいた関係者及び企業の皆様に、心より御礼申し上げます。
また皆様とお会いできる日を楽しみにしております。

May 18
Opening remarks : Yuichiro Arima (Kumamoto University)
Session I - Development -  Chair: Yuichiro Arima
Dr. Tomomasa Yokomizo Tokyo Women's Medical University	Dr. Saori Morino-Koga Kumamoto University	Dr. Yusuke Watanabe National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center Research Institute
Dr. Koichi Nishiyama University of Miyazaki
Keynote Lecture   Chair: Hitoshi Takizawa
Dr. Markus G. Manz University Hospital Zurich / University of Zurich
Session II - CHIP - Chair: Terumasa Umemoto
Dr. Elisa Laurenti University of Cambridge	Dr. Toshio Kitamura Foundation for Biomedical Research and Innovation at Kobe	Dr. Eriko Nitta Kobe University
May 19
Session III - Infection, Aging, Memory - Chair: Norika Liu
Dr. Stephanie Xie Princess Margaret Cancer Centre	Dr. Hiromi Yanagisawa University of Tsukuba	Dr. Kanako Wakahashi Kumamoto University
Dr. Keisuke Yanagida The Jikei University School of Medicine	Dr. Haruko Watanabe-Takano Nippon Medical School
The EMBO Keynote Lecture  Chair: Takashi Minami
Dr. Ralf H.Adams Max Planck Institute for Molecular Biomedicine
Poster session
Greetings from the President of Kumamoto University: Hisao Ogawa
Session IV - Hematovascular system - Chair: Kenichi Miharada
Dr. Yoshiaki Kubota Keio University	Dr. Fumio Arai Kyushu University	Dr. Katsuhito Fujiu The University of Tokyo
Dr. Camilla Forsberg University of California Santa Cruz
Session V - Transcription, Gene expression -  Chair: Guojun Sheng
【Online Lecture】
Dr. Anna M. Randi Imperial College London	Dr. Takashi Minami Kumamoto University	Dr. Hisamichi Naito Kanazawa University
Dr. Miki Ando Juntendo University
Poster Award Ceremony
May 20
Session VI - Technology -  Chair: Rieko Asai
Dr. Hiroyuki Nakajima University of Hyogo	Dr. Rieko Asai Kumamoto University	Dr. Kenichi Miharada Kumamoto University
Dr. Keiyo Takubo Tohoku University
Closing remarks: Hitoshi Takizawa (Kumamoto University)
Flyer: (Click to enlarge)