On October 12, a research project undertaken by Assistant Professor Atsushi Fujimura, Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences (Dept. of Physiology), was selected for the 2018 Practical Research for Innovative Cancer Control program, which is run by the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED).

This program is designed to vigorously promote research projects, ranging from the latter phase of applied study to the clinical study phase, aimed at developing practical applications for cancer treatment, such as innovative methods of diagnosis and therapy, thereby ensuring that fruits of research reach medical institutions. It is also designed to accelerate the elucidation of biological properties of cancers, as well as the development and application of innovative drugs, biomarkers for diagnosis and prevention, and other ingenious modalities. Assistant Professor Fujimura’s research project was selected under the program’s category A: Young scientists’ research on development of innovative cancer treatment modalities, including drugs and diagnoses, using a molecular basis.

After his research project was selected for the program, Assistant Professor Fujimura expressed a strong commitment to his three-year research project by saying: “Japan has been playing a leading role in research for the therapeutic treatment BNCT. Thanks to the untiring efforts of our predecessors, BNCT has been developed to reach a stage where its widespread use is only one step away. At Okayama University, we would like to produce achievements that will further accelerate BNCT research, which has been promoted through nationwide efforts.”