RIKEN BSI News No. 13 (Aug. 2001) - RIKEN Brain Science Institute (RIKEN BSI)

Japan - Canada Joint Workshop Held

On June 4, an international workshop entitled, "Significance of International Cooperation in Scientific Fields" was held in RIKENﾕs Ohkouchi Hall. This workshop was presented as part of the Canadian Embassy's workshop series and its purpose was to grant researchers from Japan and Canada an opportunity to exchange views on how to best establish collaborative relationships that allow for effective joint research between the two countries.
Prior to the workshop, a special lecture entitled "Plasticity of the Brain in its Behavioral Stage" was given by Professor Robert Dykes, Associate Dean of the School of Physical and Occupational Therapy at McGill University in Canada. This was followed by a panel discussion with four panelists from both BSI and Canada, where each panelist actively presented their views from their respective standpoints on the theme, "What should international collaborations in science and technology be?" In the final stage of the workshop, based on the questions raised by the audience, a summary was provided on the requirements needed to make future international research collaborations in brain science successful.

International Collaboration for Neuroinformatics

The brain utilizes sophisticated information processing by means of its intricate biological mechanisms. To understand these mechanisms, it will become increasingly important to integrate bioscience with informatics. At the same time, it is expected that these brain databases will be shared on a worldwide scale to make experimental data and analysis tools or models accessible across the planet.
These tools and models represent one form of megascience that is based on international collaboration. As part of a global science forum, the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) organized a working group for neuroinformatics, to discuss how to promote greater international collaboration in the future. This May, they held a committee meeting in Japan, for which BSI acted as host.
In the committee meeting, 16 representatives from 14 countries participated in lively discussions on themes such as the ideal way for neuroinformatics to proceed and the construction of a brain database based on international collaboration. BSI remains committed to actively addressing these issues.

BSI Summer Program 2001 Held

As part of the BSI Summer Program 2001, a lecture course was held from June 28 to July 6 with 43 young researchers from 20 countries participating. This year, the program was entitled, "Brain Dysfunctions: Molecular and Cellular Bases," which focused on understanding the underlying mechanisms of neurological and psychiatric disorder at various cellular and molecular system levels and learning about new concepts of disease treatment using neural stem cells and cells of similar composition.
Lectures were given by 19 lecturers from both inside and outside Japan, including two lecturers from BSI, each of which were followed by lively discussions where the participants actively addressed various questions. A poster session by participants and laboratory visits were also held to facilitate interaction with lecturers and BSI researchers.
In addition to the lecture course, an internship course was also offered, in which certain researchers were allowed to join various BSI laboratories for about two months. In the currently ongoing course, participants are devoting themselves to acquiring new techniques and developing their skills.
This was the third anniversary of the BSI Summer Program. While the final results for this yearﾕs program are not yet in, BSI remains determined and committed to developing various programs that can contribute to brain science on a worldwide level.
Planning is already under way for the next summer program. For applications and more details, please visit the BSI Summer Program web page at http://summer.b rain.riken.go.jp/.