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Training the next generation of biological researchers
One of the most important objectives of the GCOE Program is to foster young researchers in future generations. Many scientists agree that Molecular Biology; analyzing the field of molecules and genes has been shifting to Systematic Life Science researching interactions of integration of many factors, in Biological studies. However, it is said that Systems Biology is not that easy to understand, and the lack of researchers in this field is a serious problem in Japan. We must foster young researchers in order to develop this field. How can we tackle this problem? We have to analyze causes of unluckiness to grow young researchers and take actions.
Education of the Systems Biology in the Program
In the Program, we are educating young researchers with the following ideas;
- Knowledge of molecular biology
Education with the most carefulness is taken for granted. - No diversification, too many fields of lecture
Well-directed lesson establishment is important. - Recognition of hardiness to devote unknown areas especially for postdoctoral fellows
We think it is important for young researchers to develop basic knowledge and skills in diverse fields as well as Molecular Biology. We call it “Power of Plus α” and implement programs to develop the power.
Pre-fellowship Program
Pre-fellows will have to belong to a different laboratory that should be a part of the GCOE Program from the laboratory they graduated from before they engaged as a postdoctoral fellow, a researcher or young instructor. During this term, they develop their practical research skills that they could not master in their PhD programs. In the new laboratory, they are challenging new fields of study which will be required for independent research skills, “Multiple Power”. In this term, we will hire them as a GCOE Program researcher, postdoctoral fellows equivalent status, and cover research expenses as well.
It is difficult to find opportunities for researcher positions right after graduation from the PhD. There used to be only one way to be a researcher that your instructor in charge hires with the research expenses. In this term, it is important to complete a thesis that includes unsolved issues. However, the GCOE program could provide enthusiastic young researchers with “another way”.
In this Pre-fellowship program, the Pre-fellows can pursue their research projects in the host laboratory. If they have fruitful results, it is more than happy. However, the most important thing is what the Pre-fellows could learn from the research, because the Pre-fellowship program is one of the most significant chances to improve their researching skills for young researchers who have just completed his/her degree. The results of the Pre-fellowship Program come from not only obtaining new methods of research but understanding “difference of view points in the research”. It includes the skills that the researchers can obtain only through another laboratory.
Secondary Specialized Program
Secondary Specialized Program is the program that MA or PhD students can specialize in other research methods that they cannot master in the laboratory they belong to and experience unknown fields.
Pursuing their research, the students often face situations in which they cannot prove in the laboratory they belong to. In that case, they could only ask an acquaintance of their instructor or use word-of-mouth. The ways of finding laboratories was limited. Even if they could find a proper laboratory, they sometimes hesitate to get involved in the laboratory; if it is located far away, the problem of the cost of time and transportation might arise.
The Secondary Specialized Program provided by the GCOE Program can be flexible and systematic to the above problems and lubricate the persuasion of students’ research.
The students can acquire the “Power of Plus α” by demonstrating research in another laboratory. In addition, they can get out of closed laboratory, to say “Closed Cage”, and build new view points on their research. It is only a one or two month term, but it will be a trigger for young researchers to master a second major to imagine their figures as a researcher in their future.
Lecture/Training/Practice for Systems Biology
We hold “Lecture/Training/Practice for Systems Biology” to provide basic knowledge of Systems Biology when it is required. The course will be flexible in terms of the content and consist of Lecture, Training and Practice. An intensive course might be planned accordingly. These courses are for MA students who are planning to get into a PhD course, but PhD students can also attend the classes. Don’t regard it as a burden but “a great opportunity to learn new things” in a positive manner.