Mission

The tropics, the most ecologically diverse region on the Earth,presents an ongoing complexity of tropical diseases and other health problems. In view of the remarkable advances made in the field of international exchange in recent years, it is imperative that these problems be addressed from a global perspective.

Based on this understanding, the Institute of Tropical Medicine,Nagasaki University, aims to overcome tropical diseases, particularly infectious diseases, and the various health problems associated with them, in cooperation with related institutions, to strive for excellence in the following areas:

1. Spear-head research in tropical medicine and international health
2. Global contribution through disease control and health promotion in the tropics by applying the fruits of the research
3. Cultivation of the researchers and specialists in the above fields

Message from the Dean

The Institute of Tropical Medicine was established in 1942 as the the East Asia Research Institute of Endemics affiliated to the Nagasaki Medical College, and later became the Institute of Tropical Medicine, an independent organization from the Medical College in 1967. The Institute is the only research and educational institution in Japan dedicated exclusively to studying tropical diseases. As a center of excellence for tropical medicine in Japan and around the world, the institute is united in its efforts to promote research, education, and international cooperation in the fields of tropical medicine and international health.

1. Research

   The overseas research stations in Kenya and Vietnam conduct a wide range of research in collaboration with local researchers, including research on malaria, schistosomiasis, trypanosomiasis, cholera, dengue fever, yellow fever, respiratory infections and diarrhea in children, and other areas of international health. In addition, individual projects have been conducted in countries surrounding the above bases, including the Philippines, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, and China in Asia; Tanzania, Uganda, South Africa, Gabon, Ghana, and Democratic Republic of the Congo in Africa; and Brazil and Bolivia in South America. In recent years, private companies have become increasingly interested in Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) and are investing their research funds in this field. The Institute of Tropical Medicine is also revitalizing industry-government-academia collaboration in research, such as the establishment of the Shionogi Global Infectious Diseases Division (4 departments) in collaboration with Shionogi & Co., Ltd. from April 2019.

2. Education (Training of researchers and professionals)

   The Institute of Tropical Medicine offers a training course in tropical medicine (3-month face-to-face course and 6-month online course), and also trains personnel in the fields of tropical medicine and global health as part of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences' doctoral program and the School of Tropical Medicine and Global Health (TMGH)'s master's and doctoral programs. The TMGH is engaged in the development of human resources in the fields of tropical medicine and global health. We have accepted many students and trainees from Japan and around the world, and we are planning to further enhance the content of the program in the future. In April 2013, the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences opened the "Program for Nuturing Global Leaders in Tropical and Emerging Communicable Diseases," a leading graduate school strongly supported by the Institute, and in October 2018, the School of TMGH launched the Graduate Program of Excellence (WISE program). These schools accept highly motivated young people from Japan and around the world and also utilize overseas centers for education. The Institute cooperates with these educational activities and is committed to fostering the next generation of researchers in the field of tropical medicine.

3. International cooperation

   The Institute of Tropical Medicine has been designated as a WHO Collaborating Center for Reference and Research on Tropical Viral Diseases and is involved in international cooperation in this field. The Institute also contributes to the global response to emerging infectious diseases as a member of WHO/GOARN, by organizing WHO ethics courses, and by participating in JICA international cooperation projects and emergency relief teams. The Institute also conducts individual international cooperation in the field of tropical disease and emerging infectious disease control in collaboration with international organizations, NGOs, and private companies.

We look forward to your continued support and cooperation in our research and education.

History

The Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University was originally founded in March 1942 as the East Asia Research Institute of Endemics, Nagasaki Medical College in order to perform basic and applied studies on endemic diseases in East Asia. At the beginning, most of its research activities were field studies conducted in mainland China by the Departments of Pathology, Bacteriology, Internal Medicine, and Dermatology of Nagasaki Medical College. August 9th, 1945, the atomic bomb was dropped in Nagasaki, and the Institute's all the facilities and research materials were completely destroyed together with Medical School. Consequently, the development of the Institute and its research activities had lagged significantly behind.

In April, 1946, the Institute changed its name to the Research Institute of Endemics, Nagasaki Medical College, and moved to Isahaya City in May to resume research activities. Yet in accordance with the National School Establishment Law issued in May, 1949, the Institute once again changed its name to the Research Institute of Endemics, Nagasaki University. In 1957, the Institute was affected by another disaster of massive flooding, and its facilities, equipment, and research materials were severely damaged. Thus, construction of a new building started in Sakamoto, Nagasaki City in 1960, and the Institute moved to the building in April of the following year. The Institute's Departments, which were only two at the time, Pathology and Clinics, increased its number every year after 1963, including Epidemiology, Parasitology, and Virology. The Sakamoto building finished its first expansion at the end of 1966.

In June, 1967, with the partial alteration of the National School Establishment Law, the name of the Institute was changed for the third time to the present one to carry out basic and applied studies on tropical medicine. Around the same time, the Department of Internal Medicine, Institute of Tropical Medicine, equipped with 20 beds, was opened in the University Hospital. In 1974, the Department of Bacteriology and the Reference Center were attached, and in 1978, the Department of Preventive Medicine, consisting mainly of visiting professors, associate professors, and researchers, and the Tropical Medicine Training Course were launched. In the ensuing year, the Infectious Animals Depriva-tion Experiment Laboratory was promoted to be-come the Animal research Center for Tropical Infections, and the second building expansion was concluded in March, 1980. In September, 1983, a JICA-sponsored group training program Tropical Medicine Research Course was opened, the Department of Protozoology was established a year after, and the third building extension was finished in July the year after that. Two years later, the Department of Medical Entomology was created and the Institute was reorganized into the collaborative institute in another two years. In 1991, the Department of Biochemistry was added, and the fourth building expansion was ended in March, 1994. In April, 1994, the Institute was divided into three big Divisions, Tropical Microbiology, Pathogenesis and Clinical Sciences, and Environmental Medicine, with the establishment of two new research Departments, Thermal Adaptation and Social Environment, which have expanded to 12 Departments at present. The Institute was desig-nated as Center of Excell-ence in the forefront of scientific research in 1995, and a new research Department, Molecular Epide-miology, was established under the Research Field of Microbiology in 1996 to invite overseas visiting professors. In 1997, the Reference Room for the Tropical Medicine was replaced by the Tropical Disease Information and Reference Center, and it was again succeeded by the Research Center for Tropical Infectious Disease in 2001. In March, 2003, when the Sakamoto build-ing finalized its fifth expansion, its extension work of almost 40 years came to an end. In March, 2006, the main building's repair work was completed. In April, 2008, the Research Center for Tropical Infectious Disease for the Tropical Medicine was replaced by the Center for Infectious Disease Research in Asia and Africa and Tropical Medicine Museum. In June, 2009, the institute was authorized as the Collaborative Research Center on Tropical Disease by the Ministry of Education. More recently, two additional depatments on clinical medicine, i.e., pediatric infectious diseases and clinical pharmaceutical science, were admitted for installation.

In June, 2013, the Animal Research Center for Tropical Infections was closed.

Deans of the Institute

East Asian Research Institute of Endemics

Susumu Tsunoo

May. 4, 1942 - Aug. 22, 1945

Kohei Koyano

Dec. 22, 1945 - Jan. 23, 1948

Kiyoshi Takase

Jan. 24, 1948 - Aug. 31, 1948

Noboru Tokura

Sept. 1, 1948 - May. 30, 1949

Research Institute of Endemics

Noboru Tokura

May. 31, 1949 - Aug. 31, 1958

Nanzaburo Omori

Sept. 1, 1958 - Nov. 30, 1963

Hideo Fukumi

Dec. 1, 1963 - May. 31, 1967

Institute of Tropical Medicine

Hideo Fukumi

June. 1, 1967 - Nov. 30, 1969

Daisuke Katamine

Dec. 1, 1969 - Nov. 30, 1973

Kaoru Hayashi

Dec. 1, 1973 - Nov. 30, 1977

Tatsuro Naito

Dec. 1, 1977 - Nov. 30, 1979

Daisuke Katamine

Dec. 1, 1979 - Apr. 1, 1981

Keizo Matsumoto

Apr. 2, 1981 - Apr. 1, 1991

Hideyo Itakura

Apr. 2, 1991 - Apr. 1, 1993

Mitsuo Kosaka

Apr. 2, 1993 - Apr. 1, 1997

Akira Igarashi

Apr. 2, 1997 - May. 31, 2001

Yoshiki Aoki

Apr. 1, 2001 - Mar. 31, 2007

Kenji Hirayama

Apr. 1, 2007 - Mar. 31, 2011

Tsutomu Takeuchi

Apr. 1, 2011 - Mar. 31, 2013

Kouichi Morita

Apr. 1, 2013 - Mar. 31, 2017

Kenji Hirayama

Apr. 1, 2017 - Mar. 31, 2019

Kouichi Morita

Apr. 1, 2019 - Mar. 31, 2022

Osamu Kaneko

Apr. 1, 2022 - Up to the present

Organization

Steering Council Member

• Shigeyuki Kano( National Center for Global Health and Medicine )
• Shinichiro Kawazu( Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine )
• Yasuhiko Suzuki( Hokkaido University )

Directions

for the campus

From Nagasaki Station (JR Kyushu)

• Streetcar [ for Akasako, Line 1or 3 ]
  Get on at Nagasakieki-mae. > Get off at Atomic Bomb Museum. > Ten minutes walk.
• Nagasaki Bus [ Line 8 ]
  Get on at Nagasakieki-mae. > Get off at Igakubu-mae. > Five minutes walk

From Urakami Station (JR Kyushu)

• Streetcar [ for Akasako, Line 1or 3 ]
  Get on at Urakamieki-mae. > Get off at Atomic Bomb Museum. > Ten minutes walk.

From Nagasaki Airport

• Limousinebus [ for Nagasaki, by way of Showa-machi, Sumiyoshi ]
  Get off at Nagasakieki-mae, and then continue to "From Nagasaki Station". About one hour by taxi from the airport.

Campus Map