Academic Ties between France and iCeMS to Strengthen

French delegates from Inserm, ICM, embassy visit iCeMS

October 27, 2008

Prof. Alexis Brice, director of the Neurosciences, Neurology and Psychiatry Institute, the Institut National de la Santé Et de la Recherche Médicale (Inserm), Prof Yves Agid, scientific director of the ICM and Ms. Ayako Saito from the French embassy paid a visit to the Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS), Kyoto University.

The objectives are: to learn how the iCeMS organizes itself as a selected institute for the WPI Initiative*¹, to explore the possibilities of joint research and to encourage interaction among researchers. Prof. Norio Nakatsuji, director of the iCeMS, Mr. Takeshi Yamazaki, deputy administrative director of the iCeMS and Mr. Kimiaki Tsukagami, assistant administrative director of the iCeMS attended the meeting.

Prof. Nakatsuji gave a brief presentation on the overview of the iCeMS and answered a variety of questions, ranging from finance, human resources to management, such as its flexible retirement age policy, merit pay system, how to run such a cross-disciplinary institute comprised of researchers from different fields and so forth, all of which are specific to the unprecedented, experimental WPI Initiative.

To demonstrate how well the top-down approach to decision-making has been working out, the swift foundation of the Center for iPS Cell Research and Application (CiRA) was also addressed. This is a measure to cut the red tape in academia, and the delegates showed great interest -- because apparently, France is no exception.

Prof. Agid presented what the ICM is, which is due to open in 2010 on the campus of the Pitié-Salpétrière University Hospital in Paris, focusing on its collaboration with the world-class institutes like Inserm and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) and its plan to have 22,000 m² of floor space and over 600 renowned scientists and medical doctors of cellular and molecular neurobiology and many other fields.

Both parties expressed a wish to develop closer ties at the end of the one and a half hour-meeting.

*¹WPI Initiative = World Premier International Research Center Initiative
It is a program launched by Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) in 2007 to "establish and operate international research centers that have at their core a group of very high-level investigators."

Institut National de la Santé Et de la Recherche Médicale (Inserm)
ICM - Institute for Brain and Spinal Cord Disorders

(right) iCeMS Director Nakatsuji giving a brief presentation on the iCeMS

(right) ICM Scientific Director Agid describing the ICM

(from the left front) iCeMS Assistant Administrative Director Tsukagami, Prof. Nakatsuji, iCeMS Deputy Administrative Director Yamazaki
(from the right front) Prof. Agid, Inserm Institute Director Brice, Ms. Saito from French embassy