NAGAYASU Takeshi, the President of Nagasaki University
「Nagasaki University’s Three Approaches to Planetary Health and Human Resource Development 」
Nagasaki University is committed to realizing planetary health from three perspectives: “Global Health,” “Global Ecology,” and “Global Risk,” taking advantage of its global and local research achievements in tropical medicine and infectious diseases, radiation medicine, advanced drug discovery, and integrated oceanographic research, as well as the regional advantage of Nagasaki.
In the field of “Global Health,” based on the achievements of the Institute of Tropical Medicine and other tropical medical research in developing countries such as Kenya, we have established the “DEJIMA Infectious Disease Research Alliance” in collaboration with five departments in Nagasaki University, i.e., the National Research Center for the Control and Prevention of Infectious Diseases (with the BSL-4 facility), the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, the School of Tropical Medicine and Global Health, and the University Hospital as well as Institute of Tropical Medicine. The Alliance focuses on responding to future global health risks, integrating the operation of infectious disease research resources, and developing human resources, mainly through vaccine research and development supported by the Japanese Government.
In the “Global Ecology” field, we are strengthening collaboration among different areas, promoting blue economy innovation for sustainable marine food production, utilizing tidal power generation to achieve carbon neutrality, and combating microplastics through so-called “smart buoys” and marine robots. For remote islands in Nagasaki, we are trying to improve the medical services in islands with next-generation network-based remote medicine and wide-area drone transport for medical supplies. We also have a project promoting the creation of next-generation middle-molecular medicines using the marine microbial extracts library collected from the coast of Nagasaki Prefecture and a next-generation antibody-drug derived from benthic shark heavy-chain antibodies with a nanobody drug discovery system.
In the “Global Risk” field, the Atomic Bomb Disease Institute conducts research and education to control health risks and medical sciences due to radiation exposures in Ukraine and Fukushima. At the same time, the Research Center for Nuclear Weapons Abolition (RECNA) makes policy proposals. It disseminates information for peace and security in Northeast Asia. In addition, research on global “Megarisks” based on “comprehensive knowledge” is also being promoted in collaboration with the School of Global Humanities and Social Sciences and other faculties.
In this way, Nagasaki University aims to solve regional issues, create new academic fields, and develop human resources by weaving the fabric of planetary health with local and global perspectives as the weft and strengths in the three domains of global health, risk, and ecology as the warp.
Several strategies are necessary to realize this goal. In particular, developing international human resources and a global network are essential elements. This year marks the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Japan and Kenya. Additionally, three years later, in 2026, the relationship between Kenya and Nagasaki University will also be 60 years old. Based on our long relationship, we hope the PHASE Program will allow young people from Nagasaki University and Kenya to exchange and cooperate in all fields. We believe they leave the nest as a future bridge between Africa and Japan.
