Kawano Pediatric Medicine Scholarship Foundation
[Report] “2023 Pediatric Medicine Kawano Award Presentation Ceremony, Commemorative Lecture, and Grant Research Results Presentation” held for researchers active in the field of pediatric medicine
~At the beginning, there will also be a lecture by selection committee member Dr. Muhiko Sakamoto (adviser of Omori Red Cross Hospital)~ ……
Kawano Pediatric Medicine Scholarship Foundation (located in Kawagoe City, Saitama Prefecture, Chairman: Yukio Kawano / Representative Director of Yaoko Co., Ltd. Chairman) held the 2023 Pediatric Medicine Kawano Award Presentation Ceremony, Commemorative Lecture, Grant Research Results Presentation, and Lecture on March 2, 2024. We would like to report on the presentation ceremony and the lecture given at the beginning by Dr. Muhiko Sakamoto (selection committee member of the Foundation, advisor to Omori Red Cross Hospital, specially appointed professor at Fukushima Medical University).
In fiscal 2023, the Kawano Prize in Pediatric Medicine* will be presented to three pediatric researchers, and research grants will be awarded to 49 people, for a total of 74.48 million yen in prize money and grants.
[Image 1: https://prtimes.jp/i/104845/25/resize/d104845-25-e0a865264fa794e79be3-0.jpg&s3=104845-25-74d4d4bd0989b297672430bba552530c-1575×482.jpg] (From left in the photo) Professor Takeuchi, Professor Hishiki, Grant research presentation session
Professor Okada, Chairman of the Foundation
About the Kawano Prize in Pediatric Medicine* https://kawanozaidan.or.jp/prize/ This award was established in 1999 to commemorate the foundation’s 10th anniversary. Every year, we honor pediatric researchers who have made outstanding achievements and contributed to academic progress. With the hope of “further development of pediatric medicine,” this award is open to researchers under the age of 55 who are expected to continue contributing to pediatric medicine even after receiving the award. Winners will receive a trophy, a certificate, and a cash prize of 1 million yen. Initially, selection was made from two fields: basic medicine and clinical/social medicine, but since 2019, selection has been made from three fields: basic medicine, clinical medicine, and social medicine. By 2023, there will be 54 recipients of the award, and all of the previous recipients are now leaders in Japan’s pediatric medical community.
Comments from the 2023 Kawano Prize Winners in Pediatrics
●Basic medical field
[Image 2: https://prtimes.jp/i/104845/25/resize/d104845-25-de7e046dfaa2bd0b46f8-0.jpg&s3=104845-25-9e406f35822de09d44f1dd0aaf170b2f-610×423.jpg] Professor Ken Okada, Department of Pediatrics, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Hiroshima University
“Elucidation of the pathogenesis of congenital immune disorders” I feel extremely honored to have received the Kawano Prize in Pediatric Medicine (Basic Medicine). I am delighted that our basic research into congenital immune disorders, which we have been working on for about 20 years, has been recognized. I hope to be encouraged by this award and continue to devote myself to further research activities and contribute to the development of pediatric medicine. ●Clinical medicine field
[Image 3: https://prtimes.jp/i/104845/25/resize/d104845-25-5118fb96923a77c6549d-0.jpg&s3=104845-25-ca1f933bd3a277cd74c54a901cd466f8-610×423.jpg] Professor Tomoro Hishiki, Department of Pediatric Surgery, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine
“Treatment development aimed at improving prognosis and reducing side effects of pediatric liver tumors”
Thank you very much for receiving this prestigious award. As a pediatric surgeon, I have been involved in the treatment and research of childhood cancer. We are very honored that our efforts have been recognized this time. I hope that I can continue to contribute to the bright future of children through pediatric cancer treatment and research.
●Social medicine field
Dr. Akito Takeuchi, Deputy Director of Developmental Medicine Promotion Office, Clinical Research Department, Department of Neonatology and Pediatric Neurology, Okayama Medical Center
“Epidemiology and neonatal neurology related to developmental follow-up of infants discharged from the NICU”
[Image 4: https://prtimes.jp/i/104845/25/resize/d104845-25-b3852c9b758c95e651b6-0.jpg&s3=104845-25-26f46140372df56eea0f2b05da888e73-610×423.jpg] I am very honored to receive the prestigious Kawano Prize in Pediatric Medicine. We would like to express our gratitude to everyone who supported and provided guidance to our research to support children discharged from the NICU, and to our co-researchers who conducted the research with us. I would like to continue to work hard to give back to society with the results of my research, while thinking about the state of society with a focus on child development.
About research grants https://kawanozaidan.or.jp/research_support/ Our foundation has been providing grants to pediatric medical researchers since 1990 in order to support the development of research into the investigation, treatment, and prevention of pediatric diseases. In 2007, we established a young researcher slot for researchers under the age of 40 to support the success of young researchers. We provide grants of up to 3 million yen per person for general applicants and 1 million yen per person for young applicants. Recipients of general slots are required to give an oral presentation of their research results in March of each year.
As the scope of research related to pediatric medicine and medical care continues to expand, and it becomes more difficult to obtain research funds year by year, the number of applicants and grants has continued to increase from the start of the project to the present. By fiscal 2023, more than 700 grants have been issued, and the total amount awarded has exceeded 1 billion yen.
List of 2023 grant research results presenters
[Image 5: https://prtimes.jp/i/104845/25/resize/d104845-25-387e783848657197c435-10.jpg&s3=104845-25-74f30b960e55b7d2590ed9a6c5d5c837-1158×812.jpg] Lecture
Dr. Muhiko Sakamoto, a member of our foundation’s selection committee, has been involved in the Fukushima Prefecture Citizen Health Survey for many years, which began after the nuclear accident caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake. As time passes, there are concerns that society’s interest in the effects of the accident is fading, but the nuclear power plant accident is a lesson that we must never forget. Therefore, he gave a lecture entitled “Concerning the risk of childhood thyroid cancer due to the Fukushima nuclear accident – What the Fukushima Prefecture Citizen Health Survey has now revealed.” Title: “Concerning the risk of childhood thyroid cancer due to the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident”
Speaker: Dr. Atsuhiko Sakamoto, Consultant at Omori Red Cross Hospital, Specially Appointed Professor at Fukushima Medical University
Specialty: Tumor pathology diagnosis/clinical cytology
Society-certified physician, specialist, etc.: Doctor of Medicine, pathologist/training instructor (Japanese Society of Pathology) Cytology specialist/educational training instructor (Japan Society of Clinical Cytology), international cytology specialist (International Cytology Academy)
Fukushima Prefectural Health Survey Thyroid Testing Division Chairperson of the Pathological Diagnosis Consensus Conference / Specially Appointed Professor at Fukushima Medical University ●Excerpt from the lecture
[Image 6: https://prtimes.jp/i/104845/25/resize/d104845-25-fdb7270d62db5101643e-0.jpg&s3=104845-25-e935475b5c2f60cf31d45114c9e7d0c6-610×423.jpg] Following the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011, the TEPCO Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident occurred. As a result of this accident, various radioactive materials including I-131 were scattered into the environment. The Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident in 1964 resulted in a large number of childhood thyroid cancers among residents living in the vicinity, and some deaths from cancer. For this reason, there were concerns about the impact on children’s health in Fukushima as well. As a countermeasure for the accident, a project called the Fukushima Prefectural Health Survey was immediately launched. I was appointed as the chairperson of the Pathological Diagnosis Consensus Meeting for the Thyroid Division. Since then, he has been holding conferences once or twice a month at the Fukushima Medical University Hospital and has been involved in creating final diagnoses for cytology and histology. As a result of surgeries performed under this project, 262 patients received a final histological diagnosis of cancer. The histological type of cancer was papillary cancer in 259 patients.
So far, no clear evidence has been shown that these cancers are caused by radiation. Data from other nuclear power plant accidents, nuclear explosions, and nuclear tests are all based on high-dose exposure, and there is no data showing the effects of low-dose exposure like in the case of Fukushima. In other words, the reality is that there is no control data to compare with regarding low-dose exposure.
As I continue to follow the effects of invisible radiation on humans in Fukushima, searching for visible “cancer”, I sometimes have thoughts that come and go. The question is, what kind of effects will there be on other animals or plants that were exposed to radiation at the same time as humans, and are other experts seriously considering this? . Unless the effects of radiation are considered in the overall environment, residents will not be able to feel “peace of mind” in the true sense of the word. In Fukushima, restrictions on entry to the area surrounding the nuclear power plant are gradually being lifted, but not many people have returned. Thirteen years have passed since the accident, and I have to say that we still have a long way to go. -Foundation Overview-
Foundation name: Kawano Pediatric Medicine Scholarship Foundation Address: 1-10-1 Shinjuku-cho, Kawagoe City, Saitama Prefecture 350-1124 Chairman: Yukio Kawano (Chairman and Representative Director, Yaoko Co., Ltd.) Executive Director: Hiroko Kawano
Established: December 25, 1989
Administrative agency: Cabinet Office
URL: https://kawanozaidan.or.jp/
TEL: 049-247-1717
Mail: info@kawanozaidan.or.jp
Project details: Research grants/scholarships/pediatric medicine Kawano Prize/medical society grants
Pediatric medical facility support/on-site seminars by doctors More details about this release:
https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000025.000104845.html