The_Reserch_Support_Center page 3/8

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The_Reserch_Support_Center

Takehiko YokomizoJuntendo University, Graduate School of MedicineDepartment of BiochemistryI would like to express my congratulations to the Research Support Center for their 10-year anniversary. I am very happy to have had theopportunity to establish the Center.In February 2006, I was instated as a professor of Kyushu University Faculty of Medical Sciences, Department of Medical Biochemistry. Onthe day I took up my post, the former Professor Koichiro Takeshige (Department of Biochemistry) told me, “There is a plan to establish a corefacility laboratory to efficiently utilize our research budgets and human resources (technicians). I would like to ask you to lead and initiate thisfacility.” That was the beginning of how we created a system for all our medical departments to share their human resources, instead of limitingthem to a particular laboratory. With Mr. Takanori Nakamura, who was a technician at the Department of Medical Biochemistry, and Mr.Yasuhiro Hirakawa, who was a technician at the Department of Anatomy, and three new part time technical assistants, the Center opened inOctober 2006. Mrs. Amago (formerly, Miss. Mizoe) who joined the Center during this initial stage is now a leading member of the Center.Regarding shared equipment, we overhauled a cell sorter, a flow cytometer, and a plasmid isolation machine that were lying dormant inlaboratories in Building A of Basic Sciences, and installed an electron microscope. Using the School of Medicine’s budget, we purchased amicroarray scanner, a DNA sequencer, a microplate reader, and quantitative PCR machines, which were then used for the consignment services.Among the many hardships, I struggled the most with trying to figure out how to loosen the strict rules of a national university to establishan easily accessible, shared equipment room. I was particularly driven to 1) make the Research Support Center available to all of KyushuUniversity, and not just for the School of Medicine and 2) establish a system to efficiently collect usage fees. Initially, there was oppositiontowards my first goal, but we gradually gained the support of other departments by opening our doors to them. My second goal was necessaryfor repairing broken equipment and updating the Center’s equipment, as well as secure financial resources for the Center. I believe this decisionwas correct.I am grateful to former Professor Ryoichi Takayanagi（ Department of Medicine and Bioregulatory Science）, who was the Chairman of theManagement Committee, for his support. I also believe the reason a new professor, such as myself at the time, was able to establish such animportant center is because of the dedicated efforts of the Center’s employees. I would like to express tmy sincere respects to technicianNakamura, who nurtured the novice, part time technical assistants to become the great technical employees they are now. Since it’s founding, theCenter has increased the available equipment and employees, and is now an indispensable facility for Kyushu University’s bioscience researchers.Although I left Kyushu University in April 2012, I still get told that “your greatest achievement at Kyushu University was establishing theResearch Support Center”. It is sad to hear that technician Nakamura, who stayed and worked hard at the Center, even after retirement age,will finally be retiring in March 2016. I would like to end this congratulatory message by praying for the Research Support Center’s futuresuccess under the management of Director and Professor Hideki Sumimoto.Congratulations Current employees as of October 2016(Center Director Sumimoto in the middle, Amago, Ehara, Kiyota, Takami, Nakamura, Hayakawa)[Random Order]