熊本地震−7 2017.4.14

新年度のご挨拶  -地震から１年  　2017.4.14

あの地震から1年が経ちます。発生研の内部は窓やエレベーター、階段を含めて、この３月でほぼ復旧し、ほとんどの機器も原状に復帰しました。外壁の修復にはこれから足場を組んで11月までかかりますが、研究には支障ありません。復旧に尽力いただいた方々、ご支援いただいた全国の皆様に深く感謝いたします。

ひどい災害でした。200名を越す亡くなられた方々のご冥福をお祈りいたします。4000回を越える余震も辛いものでした。発生研も建物と研究機器には大きな損傷を被りましたが、人的被害は少なく、研究サンプルやマウスも大部分が維持されました。毎日顔を合わせて相談し、一緒に復旧作業する中で、発生研メンバーの結束はこれまで以上に堅いものになりました。ラボ間の交流を促進するために、月１回の情報交換会を始めましたし、８月には阿蘇で数年ぶりの合宿（リトリート）を開催します。阿蘇に向かう道路は工事が進んでいますが、それも含めて熊本の復旧を実感しつつ、研究交流したいと思います。国際化・産学連携の促進を目指してグローカルサイエンス推進施設を設置しますし、医学部・薬学部の研究施設と連携して研究を進められる共同体制の話し合いも始まっています。さらに来年１月には国内外から著名な研究者を招聘して国際シンポジウムを開催します。発生研の復活をアピールしつつ、次の展開に向けた国際的な人材のネットワークを作っていければと考えています。

研究機器の固定も進んでいます。実例を写真付きでまとめましたので、研究者の方は是非ご覧ください。高価な機器は、床と壁に固定した実験台の上に、ベルトで締め付けるように固定します。費用で悩むなら、せめて滑り止めシートを敷いてください。安価だし、すぐできます（何もやらないよりずっとマシです）。大切なデータが入っている自分のパソコンも、しっかり固定してください。また緊急時に刻々と変化する状況を全員がリアルタイムで共有できるように、発生研のメンバーの誰からでも全員に伝えられるメールアドレスを開設しました。これを普段から使うことで緊急時に備えることにします。非常用の水や毛布も1階に準備しました。地震はどこで起きるかわかりません。我々の経験を公開することで、少しでも次の被害を少なくすることができればと願っています。

あの地震は確かに自分の人生で一番の踏ん張りどころだったと思います。それを皆さんのご協力で乗り越えたことで、少し肩の力が抜けたような気がします。競争とか名誉欲、嫉妬心などの余計な憑きものが落ちて、自分の大切な家族や仲間がみな健康で、それぞれがやりたいことに集中できること、それが本当の幸せなのだと思えるようになりました。これからサイエンスを益々楽しめそうです。発生研で育ち、巣立っていく若手研究者の皆さんのためにも、これまで以上に素晴らしい環境を整備したいと思います。発生研を内外から支援していただいているすべての皆様に深く感謝いたします。今後ともよろしくお願いいたします。

熊本大学発生医学研究所　所長
西中村　隆一

New Fiscal Year’s Greeting
– One Year After the Earthquake – (Apr 14, 2017)

One year has passed since we felt the massive earthquakes here in Kumamoto. In March the IMEG building, including windows, elevators, and stairs, was almost fully restored, and most of our research equipment has returned to normal working conditions. Repairs to the outer wall have begun and are scheduled to be completed in November. Fortunately, I am happy to report that there are no problems plaguing our research. I would like to express my deepest appreciation to the people who helped with the restoration, and to all the people who supported us along the way.

It was a terrible disaster with over 4000 painful aftershocks. I pray for the souls of the more than 200 who died as a direct result of the earthquakes. IMEG suffered major damage to the facility and research equipment. Thankfully, the human cost was minimal and most of our research samples were safe and sound. I have found that consulting face-to-face every day and working together to restore our laboratories has strengthened the unity of our IMEG members more than ever. To further promote interaction between our laboratories, we began holding information exchange meetings once a month, and we plan on having an employee retreat in August at Mt. Aso. It is my hope that when we see that the road to recovery in Aso is well underway, we will be able to understand just how far we have come, be inspired to deepen our personal and professional relationships, and to further our combined research goals. We are now setting up a Global Science Promotion Facility with the aim of promoting internationalization and industry-academia collaboration, and discussions have begun on the implementation of a joint system where the research facilities of IMEG, the Faculty of Medicine, and the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences can advance collaborative research. Furthermore, in January of next year, we will host an international symposium and invite prominent researchers from home and abroad. We hope the symposium will show off the revival of IMEG and help create a network of international talent for the next expansion.

Stabilization efforts to prevent research equipment from being damaged in the event of another earthquake are progressing nicely. Several images of stabilized items from around the institute are posted in the link above. (Please take a moment to view them if you haven’t already.) We strongly urge everyone to tightly fasten expensive equipment to a laboratory stand that is fixed to both the floor and wall. If cost is prohibitive, at least put down a nonslip sheet. It is cheap, can be installed quickly, and is better than nothing. Also be sure to firmly fix any computer that may contain important data. We created an e-mail address for all IMEG members, which allows for real-time information sharing to easily communicate with other members during any volatile emergency situation. No one knows when or where the next disaster will occur, but we have at least prepared for quick dissemination of information during an emergency. Hopefully, by sharing information and experiences amongst each other, we will be able to reduce the damage caused by the next disaster.

Last year’s earthquake was by far the hardest thing I have had to overcome in my life. I was able to surmount it only with everyone’s cooperation, and now I can finally relax. I realized that true happiness was found once over-competitiveness, lack of honor, greed, and jealousy disappeared, and all family members and colleagues were healthy and able to concentrate on what they really wanted to do. I am now certain that I will be able to enjoy science once again. For young researchers “growing up” in IMEG, I hope that our combined passion for science will result in continuous improvements to our research environment.
We deeply appreciate everyone who has shown support for IMEG, domestic and foreign. Thank you very much!

Director, IMEG, Kumamoto University

Ryuichi Nishinakamura

 

熊本地震−6 2016.10.14

地震から6ヶ月  　

早いものであの地震から半年が経ちます。損壊した家屋の取り壊しが進み、周囲では空き地が目立つようになってきましたが、壊れたままの家も数多く残っています。発生研では、国からの復旧予算のおかげで、質量分析計、FACS、次世代シーケンサーなど損傷が大きかった機器が戻ってきました。10月からは自分たちの研究だけでなく、共同研究への質量分析支援も再開しました。今年度中にほとんどの機器が原状に復帰すると思います。またつい先日、建物の修復工事の目処がたちました。窓やエレベーターなど内部は年度内に、外壁は来年中には直していただけそうです。リエゾンラボ研究推進施設や事務部をはじめ、ご尽力いただいた方々に深く感謝いたします。

地震からの復旧過程で他の学部と緊密に連絡する必要が生じ、そのつながりを生かして、10/7には研究交流会が黒髪キャンパスで開催されました。 理学部、薬学部、医学部、発生研など多くの部局からPIが集まって６時間にわたって発表が行われました。11/7には、多大なご支援をいただいた理化学研究所から研究者をお招きして、ジョイントセミナーを開催します。  また発生研のラボ間の交流を促進するために、月１回の情報交換会を始めましたし、マウスリストも共有します。これらは今までなかった試みで、地震を契機に共同研究を促進してサイエンスを進めようという、転んでもただでは起きない我々の決意に基づいています。８月には次世代シーケンサー担当技術職員の西坂さん、９月には石黒准教授と新たなメンバーも迎えて、新生発生研が動き始めています。

全国の皆様からいただいたご寄付をもとに、研究機器の固定も進んでいます。試行錯誤の中から固定法に一定のパターンが生まれ、それを実例とともにまとめました。 地震はどこで起きるかわかりません。我々の経験を公開することで、少しでも次の被害を少なくすることができればと願っています。是非ご覧ください。また発生研災害対策マニュアルもリニューアルしました。 強調しておきたいのは、いざというときにその場を指揮するのはあなただということです。所長や教授陣は出張中かもしれないし、被災して来られないかもしれません。研究所に居合わせた人だけで地震、火災、怪我人に対処し、その状況を全所員に伝えてほしいのです。この元バージョンは５年前の東北地震の直後に作成したものです。今から振り返ると不十分だったとはいえ、私は常にカバンに入れていて、それがいざというときに役に立ちました。発生研の皆様も一読したらprintoutして持っていてください。次の災害が何であれ、被害を最小限に留めてサイエンスを前に進めねばなりません。そのための責任と覚悟を共有していただきたいのです。どうかよろしくお願いします。
あれから半年、よくここまで来ました。発生研を内外から支援していただいているすべての皆様に深く感謝いたします。そしてこれまで以上に熊本から優れたサイエンスを発信する所存です。今後ともよろしくお願い致します。

熊本大学発生医学研究所　所長
西中村　隆一

Six Months After the Earthquake: A Report from the IMEG. (Oct 14, 2016)

The six months since the earthquake have flown by so quickly. Though the demolition of damaged houses and vacant lots have become prominent, while many broken houses still remain. Thanks to the national restoration budget, we were able to repair the mass spectrometer, the FACS, and the next-generation sequencing machine, which were all significantly damaged. Starting in October, not only our own research, also mass analysis support for joint research has resumed, and most of the equipment may return to its original state by the end of this fiscal year. Also, we recently received word about the building renovations. Before the end of this fiscal year, indoor items such as windows and elevators should be fixed, and the outer wall is likely to be repaired sometime next year. We are deeply grateful to the people of the Liaison Laboratory Research Promotion Center (LILA) and other offices for their efforts.

During the restoration process after the earthquake, we needed to have close contact with other faculties. Taking advantage of this connection, a research exchange meeting was held on the Kurokami campus on October 7th. PIs from many faculties such as the Faculty of Science, the School of Pharmacy, the School of Medicine and IMEG gathered and presented their research over six hours. On November 7th, we will invite researchers from the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research, which gave us a great deal of support, for a joint seminar. Furthermore, we started monthly information exchange meetings in in order to promote exchanges between IMEG labs. These are unprecedented collaborative attempts, and due to our determination to advance science through the promotion of joint research, which happened to be jumpstarted by the earthquake, we are trying to make the most out of a bad situation. To help us in that endeavor, IMEG has started adding new staff – Ms. Nishizaka, a technical staff member in charge of the next-generation sequencer began in August, and Associate Professor Ishiguro began in September.

Using the donations we received from everyone across the country, we are carrying out research equipment repair. We are discovering specific methods of earthquake-proofing through trial and error, and then record the methods complete with examples. No one knows when or where the next earthquake will occur, but by disseminating our experience to the public, we hope that it will possible to reduce the damage at least a little. In addition, the disaster recovery manual for IMEG has also been renewed. I would like to place an emphasis on the point that it might be you who will have to take command of an immediate area during an emergency. The director or professors might be away on business trips, or they themselves might be visited by disaster. Only those who happen to be in the laboratory will have to cope with earthquake/fire/injury and must convey the situation to all staff members. The previous version was created immediately after the Tohoku earthquake five years ago. Even though I didn’t think it was fully comprehensive, I always kept it nearby and it was very helpful during the emergency. I recommend that you print it out, read it, and keep it with you just in case. Whatever the next disaster, we must attempt to keep damage and injury to a minimum so that we may continue to make contributions to science. With that in mind, I hope that we have done our part to help you prepare for the next disaster you encounter. (Hopefully you won’t need it!)

Coming up on a half a year since that fateful day and I think we have done quite well. We very much appreciate the support we have received from everyone, and I feel that we are ready and willing, more than ever, to produce good science from Kumamoto. We very much appreciate your continued support and cooperation.

Director, IMEG, Kumamoto University
Ryuichi Nishinakamura