R&D Accomplishments Dr. Mitsuaki Nishibuchi, Professor at Kyoto University, receives an Honorary Doctorate from the Prince of Songkla University, Thailand, in recognition of his contributions in U.S.-Japan Cooperative Medical Sciences Program

R&D Accomplishments

Dr. Mitsuaki Nishibuchi, Professor at Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, received the degree of "Doctor of Science (Microbiology), Honoris Causa" from the Prince of Songkla University (PSU) in Thailand. The diploma was conferred directly by Princess Chulabhorn of Thailand on September 30, 2016.
Photo 1: Prof. Nishibuchi receives the diploma from Princess Chulabhorn of Thailand

This recognition was a result of Prof. Nishibuchi's 18-year contributions to education of graduate students and mentoring the researchers in Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science at PSU through academic exchange and collaborative research among Japanese, U.S., and Thai researchers based on the faculty-level Memorandum of Understanding between Kyoto University and PSU. As the Japanese Chair of Cholera and Other Bacterial Enteric Infections Panel in the U.S.-Japan Cooperative Medical Sciences Program (*1), Prof. Nishibuchi has also led international collaborative research and academic exchange with the teams of Prof. Varaporn Vuddhakul at PSU and Prof. John Mekalanos at Harvard.

In celebration of this recognition, the next (the 52nd), Conference on Cholera and Other Bacterial Enteric Infections is planned to be held at "the 60th Anniversary of His Majesty The King's Accession to the Throne lnternational Convention Center" located on the PSU campus on February 20-22, 2018(*2)

  • Photo 2: Congratulatory ceremony with undergraduate and graduate students at Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Prince of Songkla University
  • Photo 3: Image from the 51st Conference on Cholera and Other Bacterial Enteric Infections held in South Korea in February 2017. The participants from the PSU group from Thailand deepened friendship with Prof. Nishibuchi (center of the front row).

Reference

(*1)U.S.-Japan Cooperative Medical Sciences Program
The U.S.-Japan Cooperative Medical Sciences Program (USJCMSP), one of the oldest bilateral programs in the history of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) of the United States, was established in 1965 (under a US Presidential-Japanese Prime Ministerial agreement) to address issues of public health importance in the Asia-Pacific region. Throughout its long history, emphasis has been placed on mentoring and training of researchers through international collaborative research and academic exchange.
(*2)The 52nd Conference on Cholera and Other Bacterial Enteric Infections
The Cholera and Other Bacterial Enteric Infections Panel ("Cholera Panel"), which is one of the 9 Panels in the U.S.-Japan Cooperative Medical Sciences Program. Cholera Panel usually holds an annual US-Japan Joint Conference in turns in Japan and the U.S., where achievements from a wide range of research are presented and discussed. The research includes basic and applied (diagnosis, treatment, and prevention) studies, on the enteric infections, typically diarrhea, caused by bacteria such as Vibrio cholerae, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, various types of diarrheagenic Escherichia coli, shigella, salmonella, campylobacter, etc. In academic year 2017, the conference will be held in the international convention center on the PSU campus in Hat Yai City located in southern Thailand in the February 20-22, 2018, for the reason described above. Hat Yai City is a central city of southern Thailand which is urbanized and well populated where V. parahaemlytics infection is prevalent due to frequent seafood consumption in traditional manners. The conference will be followed by an optional field investigation on February 23-24, 2018, which will compare biological, ecological, and socio-economical environments and hygienic conditions between Hat Yai City and a clean, remote island where V. parahemolyticus infection is none or rare.

09/25/17

Last updated 09/25/17