About UsMilestones

Masayo Takahashi awarded rank of Chevalier in France’s National Order of Merit

June 2021: Masayo Takahashi, senior visiting scientist  and former project leader of the Laboratory for Retinal Regeneration, was awarded the rank of Chevalier dans l'Ordre national du Mérite (Knight of the French National Order of Merit). The honor was bestowed for her “dynamic contribution to scientific cooperation between Japan and France,” noting her collaboration with the Institut de la Vision in Paris. The National Order of Merit is, along with the Legion of Honor, one of the highest awards conferred by the French government. She was also elected as an Associate Member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) around the same time.

Five new laboratories join BDR

April 2021: Two newly appointed team leaders, Dan Ohtan Wang and Fumiaki Obata, launched the Laboratory for Neuroepitranscriptomics and Laboratory for Nutritional Biology, respectively, at the Kobe Campus. Additionally, Yoshitaka Ishii, team leader of the Laboratory for Advanced NMR Application and Development, Yoshinori Yanagisawa, unit leader of Laboratory for Functional Ultra-High-Field Magnet Technology, and Toshio Yamazaki, unit leader of the Laboratory for NMR Engineering and Structural Science, who have been conducting NMR-related research and development at the RIKEN SPring-8 Center, also joined the BDR at the same time. Their laboratories are based at the Yokohama Campus and will continue to pursue NMR technology development and structural biology research with the other BDR laboratories in Yokohama.

RIKEN BDR Symposium 2021 held online

March 2021: The RIKEN BDR Symposium 2021 entitled, "Structuring Biosystems: Functions Emerging from Molecules," is held online in March 2021, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic  restricting overseas travels. There were 345 registered participants from 22 countries around the world. The program was set up in a way that the talks were recorded in advance, allowing the participants in different time zones to view them at their convenience for a limited period.

International symposium on organoid research

November 2020: RIKEN BDR, a world leader in stem cell research, and the Center for Stem Cell and Organoid Medicine (CuSTOM) at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center in the United States, a leader in  organoid research particularly related to digestive organs, liver and other endoderm-derived organs, jointly organize an international symposium “Integrated organoid science: Stem cells, Engineering, Medicine.”

Masatoshi Takeichi receives Canada Gardner International Award

March 2021: Masatoshi Takeichi, team leader of Laboratory for Cell Adhesion and Tissue Patterning, was named one of the recipients of The Canada Gairdner International Awards, which recognize scientists who have made transformative contributions to research that impact human health. Takeichi was awarded with Dr. Rolf Kemler of Germany  for their "discovery, characterization and biology of cadherins and associated proteins in animal cell adhesion and signaling." The award ceremony was held online in October 2020.

The 1st RIKEN BDR Symposium

March 2019: The first RIKEN BDR Symposium was held at the Kobe campus on the theme, "Control and Design of Biosystems." The three-day symposium featured 30 talks by 20 invited speakers and 10 selected from abstract submissions, as well as poster sessions. A total of 174 researchers from 15 countries around the world convened in Kobe to participate in the symposium.

Establishment of RIKEN BDR

April 2018: RIKEN entered into its fourth mid- to long-term plan, which included the reorganization of the life-science research centers to encourage interdisciplinary collaborations. Under the new plan, the CDB, QBiC, and some of the laboratories at CLST were integrated together to form a new center, the RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research (BDR). Eisuke Nishida was appointed as the first director of the BDR The reorganization is intended to strengthen fundamental research in biology conducted by the the laboratories at BDR which are largely based in the Kansai region of Kobe and Osaka, and a part of the laboratories in Yokohama and Hiroshima. This strong focus on fundamental biology research differentiates the BDR from the RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences (CMIS), a life-science research center based in Yokohama, whose research focus is in areas closer to clinical applications.