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A joint conference with RIKEN FIRST program and Innovative Area for Micro-endophenotypes of pyschiatric disorders.
The 6th annual MCCS-Asia meeting will be held in Kyoto on June 19th, 2013, jointly with RIKEN BSI (FIRST program) and Innovative Area (Micro-endophenotypes of psychiatric disorders) of Grant-in-Aid for scientific research in Japan.

There will be a symposium (from 8:50 to 18:15) including poster sessions (from 12:30 to 15:00) at the Kyoto International Conference Center, Annex Hall (http://www.icckyoto.or.jp/index.html).

Speakers:

Alcino J Silva (UCLA, USA), Cristina M Alberini (New York University, USA), Eric Klann (New York University, USA), Kaori Takehara-Nishiuchi (University of Toronto, Canada), Todd C Sacktor (SUNY Downstate Medical Center, USA), Moriel Zelikowsky (Caltech, USA), Angel Barco (CSIC, Portugal), Hideyuki Okano (Keio University, Japan), Thomas J McHugh (RIKEN BSI, Japan), Minoru Saitoe (Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science, Japan), Satoshi Kida (Tokyo University of Agriculture, Japan), Jin-Hee Han (Seoul National University, South Korea), Minmin Luo (Tsinghua University, China),and Sumantra Chattarji (NCBS, India)

*To attend the meeting, registration is free but required; email information (name, title, institution) to micro@nodai.ac.jp.

*We also invite abstract submissions for poster presentations (Deadline May 31st, 2013). If you plan to present a poster, please send information (title of poster, author, institution) to micro@nodai.ac.jp.

On the weekend of March 16-17, Science Festa 2013 was held in Kyoto. The event was organized by Cabinet Office and many other major organizations, institutes, and companies. The target is mainly general public and high school students. As in Science Agora in November, there were a lot of exhibitions and lecture talks. Our project panel was exhibited in the large exhibition area as before.On 17th, FIRST Science Forum 3 talk was also held in the same venue. The participants counted 5,957 in number for the 2 days.

On the weekend of November 10-11, Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) held FIRST Science Forum3 in Odaiba, Tokyo. This year they added a booth exhibition area in which we participated alongside with the other FIRST researchers to explain about our research to students and general public in person. It was the first experience for us to stand in front of our poster and a project panel for outreach purposes. There was once a long queue in front of our booth and we wish we could try again next year. Please check out JST’s website for the latest news on the Science Forum 3 (http://first-pg.jp/) as they still have 2 more forums in January and in March.

The international symposium, “Diseases and Evolution of Brain and the Mind” was held on August 29-31 2012 in Kitakan Hall at Keio University with the number of 240 audience convened for three days. The distinguished symposium was held under the auspices of APRU (Association of Pacific Rim Universities) as BMAP (Biennial Symposium on Brain and Mind Research in the Asia-Pacific).and concurrently co-organized by FIRST Program this time. The wide range of issues was covered during three days and three sessions were held as FIRST Program Sessions, namely ““Evolution of the Brain”,” Stress and its Consequence on the Mental Health,” and “Stem Cell Biology of the Nervous System and Disease Models”. Participants not only enjoyed listening to the renowned speakers from all over the world but also enjoyed participating in the panel discussion after each FIRST Program Session.

The third progress seminar for the “Strategic Exploitation of Neuro-Genetics for Emergence of the Mind” project was held on Tuesday, June 5 at Shinanomachi Campus of Keio University.

The last time we assembled about one year ago, introductory speeches were given by new researcher Dr. Toshiaki Noce, who started this April at KEIO-RIKEN Research Centre for Human Cognition, and Dr. Yasubumi Sakakibara of Keio University Faculty of Science and Technology. This time we added Drs. Tomomi Shimogori and Manabu Tanifuji to our RIKEN BSI　research collaborators and were able to see the new phaze in our project.

Our project advisor Dr. Mariko Hasegawa attended the meeting and encouraged us toward the research goals. Professor Okano emphasized that it is the time for everyone to consolidate the research results in a significant way.

On March 19, we held FIRST Program Special Seminar at RIKEN BSI, where we invited Dr. Simon E. Fisher, Director, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics in Nijmengen, the Netherlands.

Lecture Title:Neurogenetic pathways implicated in speech and language disorders

Over 60 people participated in the seminar and his lecture illustrated how FOXP2 can provide a unique molecular window allowing us to bridge gaps between genes, brains, speech and language.

The international symposium, “Neural Development: Stem Cell Perspective” was held on 17 and 18 January 2012 in Kitakan Hall at Keio University with the number of 265 audience convened for two days. Jointly organized by the RIKEN Brain Science Institute and the British Embassy Tokyo, the symposium was co-organized by Erika Sasaki (Central Institute for Experimental Animals) and Hideyuki Okano( Keio University School of Medicine ).It included lectures given by 15 distinguished researchers in neuroscience, stem cell biology, and developmental biology. The two main areas addressed were (1) pluripotent stem cells: embryonic stem cells and iPS cells and the production of genetically modified animals; and (2) neural stem cells: outer sub-ventricular zone progenitors contributing to the enlargement of the cerebral cortex. The lectures were followed by lively group discussions on these timely and important topics in biology, and FIRST researchers had the opportunity to discuss their research with the invited speakers and initiate new collaborations. The success of this symposium further advances the progress of FIRST as a leading program in cutting-edge research in Japan.

「Proceeding (English) (whole pages) (PDF:1.7MB) 　 　Cover-Greetings-Program (PDF:978KB) 　 　Session I (PDF:790KB) 　 　Session II (PDF:738KB) 　 　Session III (PDF:710KB) 　 　Session IV (PDF:652KB) 　 　Session V (PDF:929KB)	Hideyuki Okano (Professor, Keio University School of Medicine) Mr. Paul Hunter (Counsellor, Head of Science, Economic, Energy &Climate Change Section , British Embassy Tokyo) Dr. Andrea Brand (Professor, Gurdon Institute,University of Cambridge) Dr. John Parnavelas (Professor, UniversityCollege London)

International Symposium "Neural Development: Stem Cell Perspective" will be held on Tuesday-Wednesday, January 17-18,2012.

Registration :	Registration opens early December at: http://www.brain.riken.jp/jp/event/StemCell/
PDF(1.3MB) :

The second progress seminar for the "Strategic Exploitation of Neuro-Genetics for Emergence of the Mind" project was held on Wednesday, July 6 at the Shinanomachi Campus of Keio University.

It provided a second opportunity for all the sub-theme leaders to report on the progress of their research since the kick-off seminar on September 30 last year.

There were 67 participants this time, including researchers involved in the project. Introductory speeches were given by new researcher Dr. Toshiaki Noce, who started this April at KEIO-RIKEN Research Centre for Human Cognition, and Dr. Yasubumi Sakakibara of Keio University Faculty of Science and Technology. Our project advisors, Dr. Takashi Gojobori and Dr. Mariko Hasegawa, spent the day with us, kindly giving us precise comments and constructive advice.

The day was a moment to celebrate the progress we had made in the previous six months, although we still have a long road ahead as we reach toward our research goals.

Special Exhibition is scheduled at Miraikan, Tokyo during June 11(Sat) -July 24(Sun).
"TOP OF THE TOP! - 30 Researchers Aiming for the Top of the World" Exhibition

Through 30 panels, this exhibition introduces the 30 world-class researchers in Japan chosen to participate in the FIRST Program (Funding Program for World-Leading Innovative R&D on Science and Technology).
Professor Hideyuki Okano's panel will be exhibited through this period.

On Sunday, February 13, 2011, FIRST Science Forum, sponsored by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) was held. The Forum is targeted mainly to high school students and the general public. The seminar was titled "WONDER: Science starts with what you see around you!" and had 4 renowned scientists as lecturers. Professor Hideyuki Okano was one of them (see http://first-pg.jp/forum/description.html; Japanese only). The forum, planned for outreach purposes by JST, consisted of four sessions in February and March with venues in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka.

The first part introduced the scientists and the contents of their research, and was followed by an interactive session in which discussion were held between the scientists and several high school students. After the session, there was time for students to ask questions individually as the scientists came down off the stage, for an "after-talk." The allotted time for the talk was apparently too short as they went overtime until the hall had to be vacated. News about the event was aired on NHK that evening. Some students who had a chance to speak proudly posted their comments on their high school websites, which made the forum more exciting.

The youth enjoyed talking to famous scientists and were inspired by hearing them talk about their dreams.

Professor Okano sent this hearty message to the participants: "The future of humanity is on your shoulders. Good Luck!"

Our first international symposium "Biology of Mind"-Toward a Human Evolutionary Perspective-was held on Thursday, February 3 at Marunouchi Bldg Hall in Tokyo.

Hideyuki Okano is the lead researcher for a cutting-edge brain science research project focusing on mechanisms underlying the evolution of the mind and the emotions. The project has attracted significant attention among the 30 FIRST projects currently underway as it goes well beyond basic and applies science, exploring areas traditionally reserved for the humanities and social sciences.

The symposium included lectures and discussions by 14 distinguished researchers in neuroscience as well as law and religion, and proved a fitting event for the launching of the Okano project with its far-reaching objectives.
The following day on Friday, February 4 was the day for the more specialized seminar, FIRST Program Special Seminar inviting three lecturers from abroad who were with us the previous day. We had nearly 90 audiences who were eager to know about more in their research fields.

Through these two days, we focused from an academic perspective on what it is that makes us human, an area of inquiry that we are only just beginning to explore. By continuing to pursue this kind of collaboration with the humanities and social sciences, we hope to open up new avenues of thought and stimulate new discussions.

The first kick-off seminar for our project, "Strategic Exploitation of Neuro-Genetics for Emergence of the Mind," was held on September 30 at the RIKEN Brain Science Institute.

In preparation for the project, Professor Okano, the core researcher, and the sub-project members have been busy holding discussions and intensive meetings with each other. This seminar gave us an opportunity to meet with researchers in related disciplines and to engage in active discussion and an exchange of ideas.

The seminar had 46 participants in total and started with Professor Okano's presentation giving an outline of the project, followed by presentations from sub-project researchers describing their themes and the current status of their research. The meeting served as a forum to give all participants a comprehensive view of the entire project, and a chance for them to exchange views with their colleagues.