Center for Promotion of Translational Research
Atsushi Ochiai, Toshihiko Doi, Katsuya Tsuchihara, Wakako Toga, Akihiro Sato, Takayuki Yoshino, Shinichiro Takahashi, Hitoshi Ichikawa, Noboru Yamamoto, Masayoshi Shibatsuji, Nobuko Ushirozawa, Yoshikatsu Koga, Daichi Ota, Nobuyoshi Takeshita, Yutaka Tomioka, Shigehiro Koganemaru, Syuichi Mitsunaga, Hiroki Sasaki, Toshio Shimizu, Yosinori Ikarashi, Masaaki Ito, Hiroaki Ikematsu, Katsuji Aikawa, Shingo Sakashita, Masahiro Yasunaga, Masashi Furuichi, Akihiro Ohashi, Hiroshi Fujii, Tetsuya Nakatsura, Koji Nakamura, Sadamoto Zenda, Satoshi Horasawa, Tomomi Nakahara, Mami Takahashi, Gen Fujii, Kazuhiko Aoyagi, Toshio Imai, Akihiro Hamada, Natsuko Okita
Introduction
The importance of translational research, which translates the results of excellent basic research into the development of new drugs and medical devices, is increasing. Translational research is a central mission for the National Cancer Center, which conducts research and other activities as a core center for the conquest of cancer. The Center for the Promotion of Translational Research (CPOT) was established on July 1, 2021 under the direct control of the President as a hub for supporting translational research.
The Team and What We Do
The purposes of CPOT are (1) to support the Hospital, Hospital East, the NEXT Medical Device Innovation Center, the Research Institute, and EPOC to collaborate toward discovering and developing seeds based on clinical needs and to accelerate their development into clinical trials conducted at the two hospitals, and (2) to accelerate networking with academia in Japan and overseas to discover and support cancer-related seeds and establish a platform for empirical research.
Research activities
Under the governance of the director of CPOT, members in charge of research support in both hospitals, the Research Institute, and EPOC were appointed. Teams for research planning, seed discovery and evaluation, project management, public relations, and human resource development were organized. After these preparations, the NCC applied to become a translational research support organization and was accredited by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) on December 20, 2021. The NCC was the only non-university organization among the 11 institutions that received accreditation. Upon accreditation, CPOT selected research proposals for the AMED translational research program and for the exploratory research project funded by National Cancer Center Research and Development Fund.
Education
CPOT organized information seminars for researchers and research supporters engaged in translational research conducted at the NCC. A new seminar series on non-clinical research was prepared for launch in FY2022.
Future prospects
Especially in the field of oncology, there is an urgent need to establish a system for open innovation research and development based on unique platform technologies from academia and venture companies. Taking advantage of its accreditation as a translational research support organization, CPOT will collect seeds from inside and outside the NCC and accelerate development through industry-academia-government collaboration. We will also foster research supporters with expertise in increasingly sophisticated cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment technologies.