 Message
The
Biomedical Science Association (BMSA) is a non-profit group
made up of specialists coming from national research institutions,
universities, etc., who majored in medicine, pharmacology,
veterinary medicine, agronomy, or other fields of biological
sciences. Aiming to extensively contribute our expertise and
skills acquired through our long experience for the benefit
of the society, we kicked off the Association as a voluntary
organization fifteen years ago. Later on, its activities and
achievements in the areas of overseas technical cooperation,
scientific meetings in Japan, workshops, various publications,
and the like were recognized. In January 2000, the Association
was authorized as a specially designated non-profit organization
(NPO corporation), and it began new activities as a public
organization.
BMSA is aiming in particular to promote activities related to preventive medicine
in Japan. Despite the progress achieved nowadays in medicine and in sciences,
diseases still plague our society and new diseases are emerging following changes
in life styles in industrialized countries. Universal health insurance coverage
would be the ideal for the society. However the insurance public insurance system
is about to collapse with the aging of society in a great number of advanced
countries including Japan. Finding means to avoid diseases and privileging prevention
over treatment are indeed the course that medicine should follow henceforth.
The improvement in the quality of social life tends to be rapidly forgotten nowadays
in Japan to the benefit of the socio-economic development.
Aiming to achieve a more comfortable living environment in the coming years,
the BMSA members are proactively engaged in various activities, such as organizing
lectures and workshops, undertaking research on a contract basis, providing consultation,
providing information and publishing and introducing books.
We are looking forward to your extensive support and collaboration.
Akira Oya, President
Biomedical Science Association
1.
Purpose of the foundation of the Association
Industry and society are expanding at a rapid pace through global
technological innovation. There is no doubt that sciences and
technology are playing an important role as a driving force. DNA
related research using as a tool biotechnology, which has been
in recent years the focus of attention notably in the field of
life sciences, is considerably contributing to the welfare of
humanity in a wide range of areas from fundamental biological
research for the elucidation of the structure and functions of
the genes of living organisms, to the investigation into the etiology
of cancer and other ailments, the commercial production of orphan
drugs such as insulin and interferon used as treatment agents,
the development of useful microorganisms used in the chemical
industry, and application research on agricultural products, livestock,
etc. DNA-related research is expected to further progress rapidly
into the 21st century. In particular, there is still ample room
for new frontiers with advanced technologies in the various fields
of life sciences. In the pharmaceutical industry, which is now
doing a lot of efforts in research and development, most of the
products of biological material origin, which account for 50%
of the pharmaceuticals, will probably be biotechnology-application
products by the year 2000. Dynamic research and development will
further progress in the coming years and will greatly contribute
to the maintenance of health.
The consolidation of fundamental research, the merging of fundamental research
with application research, the promotion of research regarding product quality
control and studies on the evaluation of the safety of genetic recombination
technology will be taken up as important research themes in order to give a strong
impulse to research and development related to bio-drugs and health maintenance.
In consideration of these research themes, we have established the Bio-Medical
Science Association (BMSA), which will serve as a media providing a place for
practical research exchanges and allowing researchers to carry out smoothly and
efficiently their activities. This will enable researchers involved in health
care and medical services to help one another in a free way and informally.
In order to enable the researchers to valorize their expertise, experience and
skills, this Association will serve as a place for exchanges between researchers
who have retired and those who are still active, a place for exchanges between
people from the private and public sectors in order to link fundamental research
to application research, a place allowing retired researchers to pursue freely
their research activities, and a place for the fusion with research in other
related fields and for international exchanges. The Association wishes to contribute
to the improvement of human health and welfare through playing a part in the
amelioration of the results obtained by researchers and in the expansion of related
industries.
Establishment: September 1987
2. History of the Association
The Biomedical Science Association (commonly known as BMSA) has
been established as a place for exchanges between researchers in
service in four testing and research organizations of the Ministry
of Health and Welfare (National Institute of Health, National Institute
of Hygienic Sciences, National Institute of Public Health, National
Institute of Nutrition) and those who have retired.
| 1987 |
President: Shiro Someya (Advisor to the National Institute
of Public Health) |
| 1992 |
reorganization into a place for research exchanges including
researchers from universities and public research organizations
(regional institutes of health, etc.) and from the private
sector. |
current President of the Board: Akira Oya (Director General
of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases at that
time, Honorary Member of the Institute) |
| 1996 |
installation of the laboratory of the Association (BMSA
laboratory) in Kashiwa City, Chiba Prefecture |
| 1997 |
reorganization of the Board of Managers into the Board
of Directors following amendments to the regulations |
| 2000 |
qualification of the Association as a specially designated
non-profit organization |
3. Organization of the Association
4. Research
activities
The Association is in charge of exchanges on practical research
in the following fields.
-
Biotechnology
Exchange of researchers involved in the development
of pharmaceuticals, etc. through the application of biotechnology
(application
of biotechnology to health care and medical services).
-
Development and quality control
of biological preparations, etc.
Exchange of researchers involved
in the development of vaccines, antibiotics, physiologically active
substance, blood
preparations and other pharmaceutical
products and for the study of their safety and efficacy.
-
Control of infectious
diseases
Exchange of researchers
involved in the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases.
-
Clinical
tests and diagnostic reagents
Exchange of researchers
involved in the development and standardization of
clinical tests, diagnostic reagents, etc.
-
Food hygiene
and nutrition
Exchange
of
researchers
involved in hygiene control and nutritional physiology
of
various
foods and in
the
study of the influence of food additives and
other
substances on the human body .
- Environmental
hygiene
Exchange
of researchers involved in environmental hygiene,
etc.
-
Experimental animals
Exchanges
of researchers involved in the development
of experimental
animals
used as human disease models and in research
on
the diseases of experimental
animals.
-
Facilities for biohazard control
Exchange of researchers studying hazards due to infections inside laboratories, nosocomial infections, environmental contamination and recombinant DNA research.
-
Equipment related to medical services and physics and
chemistry
Exchange of
researchers involved in the development of apparatus
for health care and physics and chemistry.
-
International cooperation
Encouragement
of efficient cooperation in
health care and
public
hygiene
and promotion of scientific
contacts and
exchange of researchers involved
in tropical diseases.
- Other related fields for achieving the objectives
of the Association
|
