Division of Innovative Research and Development Advanced Research & Development Programs for Medical Innovation（AMED-CREST, PRIME）

[Research and Development Objective] Elucidation of stress responses and pathogenic mechanisms

Under “Stress” R&D area, the goal is to scientifically elucidate the biological responses at various different levels, from molecular/cellular levels to individual levels, caused by physical, chemical, biological, or emotional/psychological stress, and to develop an integrated understanding of stress responses and the mechanisms involved from the molecular/cellular level to the individual level.
We are surrounded by various different stressors, and new stressors have also emerged because of the changes in our lifestyles and social environments during the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Prevention of diseases triggered by such stressors is important to improve our QOL. However, it is difficult to get an objective and accurate understanding of the biological responses to various stressors, and we still do not have a clear view of what type of exposure to stress can cause homeostatic breakdown in the individual that leads to pathogenesis in which many unknown mechanisms are involved. We therefore need to identify at the early stages the biological danger signals that occur in response to stress exposure and prevent disease before it occurs.
Specific goals of this R&D area include (1) elucidation of stress adaptation or avoidance systems in humans with a focus on applications in disease prevention, and elucidation of the mechanisms involved between the breakdown of these systems and disease onset; (2) identification of markers that allow objective evaluation of stress status in humans or prediction of disease onset due to stress, and elucidation of their pathophysiological significance; and (3) research and development of new techniques or methods, new measuring devices, or signal processing technologies that allow accurate, detailed, and long-term capture of human biological information that fluctuates subtly with exposure to stress.

2023

Program Supervisor (PS)

 ISO Hiroyasu

Director of Institute for Global Health Policy Research (iGHP),
National Center for Global Health and Medicine

Program Officer (PO)

 ICHIJO Hidenori

Distinguished Professor, TMDU Advanced Research Institute, Tokyo Medical and Dental University

 SEKITANI Tsuyoshi

Professor, The Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research, Osaka University

R&D Area Advisors

 AOKI Ichio

Senior Principal Investigator, iQMS, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology

 ASAHARA Hiroshi

Professor, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University

 UMEDA Satoshi

Professor, Department of Psychology, Keio University

 OHIRA Tetsuya

Professor, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine

 OGAWA Koichi

Group Leader, Laboratory for Drug Discovery and Disease Research, Shionogi & Co., Ltd.

 SUZUKI Tadashi

Chief Scientist, RIKEN Cluster for Pioneering Research

 SUDO Nobuyuki

Professor, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University

 NAKAYAMA Keiko

Professor, Graduate School of Medicine, Tohoku University

 NATSUME Tohru

Prime Senior Researcher, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology

 HAMAZAKI Yoko

Professor, Center for iPS Cell Research and Application, Kyoto University

 MORI Yasuo

Professor, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University

 YOSHIUCHI Kazuhiro

Professor, Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, The University Tokyo Hospital

Stress