Message from the program leader

Between September 2006, when a working group began to plan our Global COE application, and the time of writing (November 2007), our concern and sense of crisis about the deterioration of our global environment have been increasing rapidly. Worldwide trends such as these were undoubtedly among the factors that led to our proposal's main theme -"Strategies for survival and adaptation in a changing global environment" - being chosen as one of the thirteen research topics for Global COE funding in the field of Life Sciences.

What can NAIST offer to the GCOE Program?
The answer can be expressed in three key ideas:

1. Performing research that will contribute to improving the global environment;
2. Promoting substantial international exchange; and
3. Producing word-level researchers in the field of biotechnology.

First, we seek to analyze and understand the overall picture of biological adaptation to the environment at the three levels of the cell, the individual, and reproduction. Finding effective ways of using living organisms to tackle issues concerning the world environment is becoming important. Second, to strengthen international exchanges, it is essential to sustain cooperation and interaction on a continuous basis. For this purpose, we are developing strong ties with the University of California, Davis and the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Finally, these processes of research and exchange will yield many international researchers with a global outlook who will play active roles in future biotechnology.

We hope that each researcher who is involved in this valuable GCOE program will seize the opportunities it provides and make major breakthroughs in their studies.

NAIST Global COE Leader
Ko Shimamoto