Messages from Dean

Tohoku University School of Medicine: Research First, Open Doors, and Practice-Oriented Research and Education

Naoto ISHII

Tohoku University School of Medicine is celebrating the 108th anniversary of the establishment of Tohoku Imperial University Medical School in 1915. In its more than 100-year history, Tohoku University School of Medicine has produced many outstanding medical researchers based on the three founding principles of "Research First," "Open Doors," which emphasizes diversity, and " Practice-Oriented Research and Education," which aims to create new social values through the production of research results. In the past, the university has produced several major research achievements, such as the discovery of the Sendai virus, the invention of the electroencephalography, and the world's first stomach cancer screening for healthy people. Among these, the stomach cancer screening program, which involved building a self-made special bus equipped with X-ray equipment and driving it to rural villages, was truly revolutionary at that time, and a good example of "Practice-Oriented Research”.

The human crisis caused by the unknown viral infection that emerged in late 2019 has pushed medicine, which had been moving toward precise personalized medicine for chronic diseases such as cancer, to take on the role of viral crisis management for all of humanity in response to pandemics. In addition, medicine is now being asked to contribute to building a resilient society. Tohoku University has established a system to provide the best possible medical care for those who are mildly ill with COVID-19 by turning the hotel treatment facility into a temporary branch of the university hospital, enabling examination and treatment during stay and recovery, and providing individualized treatment according to the severity of the illness. In addition, the Tohoku University Vaccination Center was established at a location directly connected to Sendai Station, where 800,000 vaccinations were administered, taking on the role of crisis management for the people of Sendai City. The establishment of such a creative medical system was the brainchild of a professor who directed medical care in the affected areas at the time of the Great East Japan Earthquake, drawing on his experience. On the other hand, a professor who came to Beijing 20 years ago as a WHO representative at the time of the SARS outbreak and brought the disease to an end is now working at the forefront of the COVID-19 response to this pandemic as a member of the Japanese government. In today's globalized and increasingly complex society, there is no doubt that unknown challenges, the likes of which humanity has never seen before, will continue to emerge. I am sure that Tohoku University's mission is to address crisis situations such as major earthquakes and pandemics, as well as unknown challenges that have never existed in conventional society. By continuously developing the many insights gained from our past experiences, I hope to play an increasingly central role in medicine and medical care in Japan and the world.

The School of Medicine and the School of Health Sciences train not only medical professionals, but also medical researchers by involving them in medical research from their undergraduate years. In addition, the Graduate School has four majors including Medical Sciences, Disability Sciences, Health Sciences, and Public Health, all of which accept international students from all over the world to realize the "Open Doors" policy, and trains researchers who will lead the next generation of medicine and health. I sincerely hope that they will work at the forefront of the world to solve the unknown problems of mankind.