大学案内｜ABOUT MDU

　The first joint meeting of the committees for the 39th AJDU (All Japan Dental University) Student Sports Tournament was held at Hotel Buena Vista in Matsumoto on Monday November 13th. About 50 committee members from 29 dental universities and departments all over Japan attended the meeting. Winter sports tournaments will commence this month. The first will be rugby and football tournaments at the MDU's athletic field and at the multi-purpose sports field in Osakada Park in Shiojiri from 23rd (Saturday) to 28th (Thursday).

　Prof. Ilan Rotstein, vice dean of the dental department of University of Southern California (USC) in the USA, visited MDU for the first time on Tuesday December 21st. He presented the state of reform and ambitions of the USC dental department in the Jonendake Room in the 30th Anniversary Building.

　The 63rd academic meeting of MDUA (the Matsumoto Dental University Association) (regular meeting) was held in Room 201 of the lecture hall building on Saturday November 18th, chaired by Toshifumi Morimoto (the director). Eight lectures on education, basic and clinical dental research were presented to an audience of about 70 university and non-university staff.

　The 5th FD meeting was held in Room 601 of the main building on Thursday November 16th, with a lecture by the special guest, Mr. Masaomi Ihata, an administration office manager of the Japan Universities Association for Computer Education, titled "Consideration of the educating ability of university lecturers, use of IT". Mr. Ihata stressed that university lecturers must be aware that teaching is their job and endeavor to offer the base for students to improve their personal abilities, and to continuously improve their own teaching ability.

　A science education training course for primary, middle and high school teachers and assistant science teachers in Nagano Prefecture was held in the basic training room in the training building on Thursday November 2nd. Oral Physiology Department provided the training and a lecture titled "Learn the function of the heart and nerves using frogs".

　A lecture titled "Development of multiple-direction lip pucker power measurer using air pressure" by Prof. Kishio Sabashi, a part-time lecturer of the Oral and Maxillofacial Biology course of MDU Graduate School of Oral Medicine, received the excellent lecture award of the Japanese Society for Mastication Science and Health Promotion at the 16th general meeting of the society. The award was presented at the 17th general meeting of the society which was held at Tsurumi University Hall on Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th October.

　MDU held a fire drill on Friday November 10th. Participating in the evacuation and fire extinguishing drill were 322 students and university staff. After receiving an explanation on how to extinguish a fire by the staff of a fire fighting equipment company, the participants practiced extinguishing fires using extinguishers. The students' evacuation drill was conducted for the first time. A total of 240 students from the first, second and third years evacuated from the lecture hall building to the open space next to the students' lounge through the courtyard.

　The 7th public lecture of Matsumoto Dental University Hospital was held in the student hall of the library building on Saturday October 28th. Prof. Horai O of the Dental Pharmacology course presented a lecture titled "If you start suffering from dry mouth, xerostomia: cause, medical treatment and home treatment.
Recent years have seen a rise in the number of people complaining of dry mouth, caused by reduction in saliva secretion. It is thought that more than thirty percent of middle-aged people know they have xerostomia (dry mouth). About sixty people attended the lecture, showing the high degree of concern about dry mouth.

　Assistant Professor Toru Hiraga of the Oral Anatomy II course received a subsidy from the Sagawa Foundation for Promotion of Cancer Research for fiscal year 2006 for his research titled "Roles of hypoxia and transcription factor HIF-1 during bone metastasis of breast cancer"
The Sagawa Foundation for Promotion of Cancer Research, which was established by the Sagawa Express Group in 1989, provides subsidies every year for basic cancer research and for research and development of cancer treatment with the aim of contributing to medical welfare. In this fiscal year, 15 applicants out of 205 were selected. The subsidy awarding ceremony was held in the Rihga Royal Hotel in Kyoto on Saturday November 18th. Assistant Professor Hiraga received a certificate and a million yen subsidy.