20th Grant

I participated in "MEDINFO2025" held in Taipei, Taiwan, and gave an oral presentation titled "Development of an Automated Classification System for Medication-Related Incident Factors: A Practical Approach to Enhancing Patient Safety Management."

Systematic analysis of past accident cases is essential for promoting medical safety. However, despite the accumulation of a vast number of incident reports, the current situation is that they are not being fully utilized because detailed analysis requires expertise and time. In this study, to address this issue, we constructed a model to automatically extract accident factors from incident reports using natural language processing technology. By devising machine learning methods, we realized a practical model for clinical settings that is lightweight and capable of extracting accident factors with a certain level of accuracy.

During the session, I actively listened to other research presentations and participated in Q&A sessions. While actively discussing with researchers from all over the world, I was blessed with the opportunity to exchange opinions not only with experts in pharmacy but also with experts in informatics. I was greatly stimulated by opinions from various perspectives and was able to grow significantly as a researcher. In addition, I was able to learn about medical accident reporting systems and the actual state of medical safety in other countries, gaining many insights that will lead to future research.

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to Sato Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. for their generous support for my participation and presentation at this conference.

(Faculty of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacy, 6th Year / Yuri Takamatsu)

I gave a poster presentation at the Asia Pacific Societies for Extracellular Vesicles 2025 titled "COPB2 protein in extracellular vesicles induced by endoplasmic reticulum stress as a potential biomarker for lung cancer."

The contents of extracellular vesicles (EVs) secreted by cancer cells hold potential for application in cancer diagnosis and treatment. Therefore, we collected EVs from serum samples of lung cancer patients and analyzed their internal proteins, which revealed that patient-derived EVs contain a large amount of a protein called COPB2. In this presentation, I presented those results and a study on the mechanism.

During the presentation, my hesitation toward English conversation was dispelled through Q&A in English, and I became able to explain my research content concisely. In addition, I had a meaningful discussion with a representative from an overseas company exhibiting at the conference venue about the possibility of applying their nanoparticle analysis platform to COPB2 evaluation, and we were able to consider collaborative research. These experiences served as a valuable opportunity to improve my international communication skills for research while also cultivating the confidence to discuss on equal terms with corporate researchers.

Lastly, I would like to thank Sato Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. for supporting my participation in this conference. I will use the opportunity I was given as a springboard to grow even further as a researcher.

(Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Master's Program 1st Year / Yuji Dan)

I gave a poster presentation at the Asia Pacific Societies for Extracellular Vesicles 2025 titled "Exploration of miRNAs associated with the degree of intratumor T-cell infiltration in mouse pancreatic cancer cells."

In this study, we focused on miRNAs contained in extracellular vesicles (EVs) derived from pancreatic cancer cells, aiming to clarify their impact on the tumor immune environment. I analyzed the relationship between the expression of miRNAs within EVs and intratumoral T-cell infiltration using a pancreatic cancer mouse model, and presented the results of identifying miRNAs related to the degree of infiltration and their potential involvement in immune responses.

At the conference venue, I actively exchanged opinions with domestic and international researchers and gained new perspectives regarding analysis methods for EVs and miRNAs. In particular, I realized that EV research could become a breakthrough for diagnosis and treatment in intractable cancers like pancreatic cancer, and I reaffirmed the significance and future potential of my own research.

Finally, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Sato Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. for supporting such a valuable opportunity. Using the learning I gained this time as fuel, I will continue to grow as a researcher through my daily research life to contribute even a little to the development of cancer treatment.

(Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Master's Program 2nd Year / Kaoruko Asakawa)

I gave a poster presentation titled "Cancer-associated circulating bacterial tsRNAs identified by large-scale serum RNA-seq analysis" at the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles 2025 (ISEV2025) held in Vienna, Austria, from April 24 to 27, 2025.

Recent advances in RNA-seq technology have revealed that RNA not derived from the human genome exists in human blood. In this study, we clarified that bacteria-derived RNA exists in the blood and that the abundance of specific bacteria-derived tRNA-derived small RNAs (tsRNAs) correlates with the presence or absence of hepatocellular carcinoma. In particular, tsRNAs identified in Klebsiella pneumoniae, which has been reported to be involved in the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma, were confirmed to be contained in bacterial extracellular vesicles (bEVs) actually secreted by the bacteria. When these bEVs were administered via the tail vein to a liver cancer mouse model with a background of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), a trend toward tumor growth was observed.

ISEV was my first international conference, and being able to engage in active discussions with participants from diverse backgrounds was a very meaningful experience. I will strive even harder in my future research activities using the knowledge gained this time.

Finally, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Sato Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. for their generous support for my participation and presentation at this conference.

(Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Master's Program 2nd Year / Kazuki Oshima)

I participated in NEURO2025 held at Toki Messe in July and gave a poster presentation titled "Effect of LAG-3 on microglial activation after peripheral nerve injury."

Peripheral nerve injury (PNI) shows large individual differences in recovery and can cause permanent motor dysfunction, making the search for new treatments important. After PNI, immune responses are triggered not only at the site of injury but also in the central nervous system (CNS), and it has been suggested that microglia activated after PNI promote axonal regeneration.

From previous research in our laboratory, it has become clear that lymphocyte activation gene 3 (LAG-3), one of the immune checkpoint molecules, is expressed in activated microglia and regulates their activation. Therefore, with the aim of searching for new treatments for PNI, we analyzed the effect of LAG-3 deficiency on microglial activation after PNI. As a result, it was shown that microglia express LAG-3 from the 7th day after PNI onwards, and that LAG-3 deficiency promotes microglial activation. We also clarified that LAG-3 deficiency sustains the regenerative response in motor neurons.

Many experts in neuroscience participated in this conference, and by actively discussing with various researchers through the poster presentation, I was able to obtain objective opinions regarding the challenges of my own research and future guidelines. In addition, by listening to cutting-edge research presentations, I was able to further deepen my knowledge.

Lastly, I would like to express my deep gratitude to Sato Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. for their generous support as research incentive funds for my participation in this conference.

(Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Master's Program 1st Year / Nanaka Nomura)

I participated in the 28th International symposium: Synthesis in organic chemistry held in Cambridge, UK, and gave a poster presentation titled "Revisiting C4N4 Fluorophore: Theoretical Elucidation of Radiative decay Pathway of 2,5-Diaminopyrimidines and Strategic Applications to Heavy Metal Detection."

C4N4, which our group newly discovered to be a fluorescent core skeleton, exhibits significant fluorescent properties such as high fluorescence quantum yield and large Stokes shift. Recently, regarding the fluorescence emission mechanism of C4N4, the existence of several derivatives that contradict previous hypotheses was confirmed. Therefore, in this study, we analyzed the internal conversion pathway from S1 to S0 in detail using time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) and the artificial force-induced reaction method (AFIR method). Furthermore, in the modification of the two unsubstituted amino groups characteristic of C4N4, we newly found that N-alkylation maintains fluorescence while imine formation leads to non-fluorescence, so we thought that ON/OFF regulation of fluorescence would be possible through imine/amine conversion. Therefore, we synthesized a derivative having a phenol with an allyl group nearby, which is easily cleaved in the presence of Pd, and succeeded in developing a fluorescent probe that enables the detection of trace amounts of palladium using fluorescence activation through cyclic N,O-acetal formation.

At this conference, I was able to exchange opinions with researchers from various countries and re-examine my research theme objectively and from a bird's-eye view. In addition, I was able to listen to many cross-disciplinary cutting-edge presentations, which provided good stimulation to broaden my own research perspective. Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to express my deep gratitude to Sato Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. for their generous support and for providing such a valuable opportunity.

(Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ph.D. program 3rd Year / Miki Kohira)