大学案内｜ABOUT MDU

　Representatives of Hebei Province, China, visited Matsumoto Dental University (MDU) headed by Ms. Yumei Wang, the health department director, for a medical exchange on Wednesday, December 13th. The main purposes of the visit were for the Hebei Province health department director to meet Mr. Yasushi Yagasaki, the chairman of the board of MDU's directors, to make agreements for academic exchanges and friendly relationships, and to present the Yanzhao Friendship Award to Tadashi Yagasaki, MDU's managing director. The group discussed future exchanges with MDU's directors and administrative lecturers, and inspected MDU's facilities. The group deepened the friendship between the province and MDU.

　Mr. Yasuo Tanaka, a specially assigned lecturer (formerly governor of Nagano Prefecture), gave his first lecture of the year on Tuesday, December 5th, 2006. As he did last academic year, he gave a lecture as part of the Introduction to Dentistry I course, for the latter semester. Mr. Tanaka not only lectured on dentistry, but also gave explanations of recent news for students to understand the mechanism and the affairs of present society.

　Prof. Yoshinori Arai of the Division of Hard Tissue Research of the MDU Graduate School of Oral Medicine, a research group of the National Institute of Radiological Sciences, and Rigaku Corporation jointly developed epoch-making high precision 3D radiography CT procedures which can produce images to show the pathogenesis of diseases such as cancer of live animals. The outline of the procedures was announced in the press conference room of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in Tokyo on Tuesday, October 31st. An agreement will be concluded with the National Institute of Radiological Sciences and Rigaku Corporation to launch a joint research project using the new procedures.

　An international symposium was held for the announcements of interim reports of ICORP (International Cooperative Research Project) for organ regeneration at Faculty House in the Komaba Campus of Tokyo University on Monday November 13th of last year. Participants are members of task teams which include MDU's research team, Prof. Melton's team of Harvard University in the US, and Prof. Asashima's team from Tokyo University. Ms. Mariko Yamaki, a lecturer of the Division of Hard Tissue Research of the MDU Graduate School of Oral Medicine, presented a report titled "Effectiveness of suppression of teratoma of ES cells by type I collagen".
Yamaguchi University organized a meeting for the announcements of the results of team research for the project at Nishinagato resort in Yamaguchi Prefecture on Saturday and Sunday, November 18th and 19th. Kevin Egan from Prof. Melton's team (Harvard University) and Prof. Chad Cohen (MGH) announced their data.

　Nagano Prefecture Children's Health Association organized an event for the 13th Nagano Prefecture Children's Health Week. (The chair of the association, Prof. Yoshimitsu Fukushima of Shinshu University; the vice chair, Prof. Hiro Miyazawa of the MDU Graduate School of Oral Medicine.) The event was held in MDU's lecture hall building on Saturday, December 2nd, mainly by the Division of Clinical and Molecular Genetics of Shinshu University Hospital and MDU's Pediatric Dentistry course. Pediatricians and lecturers from MDU's Pediatric Dentistry course staffed a booth, giving children's health consultations. MDU's lecturers dispensed advice on children's dental health, and instructed the correct way of brushing teeth.

　The Ochanomizu Foundation for Medical and Dental Profession and the Dental Alumni Association of Tokyo Medical and Dental University held a joint symposium in Hitotsubashi Kinen Hall in Tokyo on Sunday, November 26th. At the symposium, Prof. Pao-Li Wang of MDU's Dental Pharmacology course presented a lecture titled "The effect of the macrolide antibiotic on biofilm". Prof. Wang is one of four clinicians and researchers in Japan studying the internal treatment of gingival diseases, which is attracting attention internationally.

　Matsumoto Dental University Hospital held the 7th lecture for dentistry tutors mainly in the Jonendake room in the 30th Anniversary Building on Saturday and Sunday, December 16th and 17th. Eighteen dentists attended. These lectures started last year, responding to the guidance of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, based on the concept that raising dentistry tutors at university hospitals is important to improve dental clinical training.

　The 1st FD training for graduate school titled "Present situation and prospects of dental treatment" was held on Wednesday November 22nd with guest Mr. Mitsuo Okubo, chair of the Japan Dental Association. This was Mr. Okubo's first visit to MDU after becoming the chair, and his lecture was the first lecture by the chair of the Japan Dental Association at MDU.