Greeting by the Chairman
It is our great pleasure to announce the 138th Annual Meeting of the Pharmaceutical Society of Japan (AMPSJ) which will be held from Sunday March 25 till Wednesday March 28, 2018, at the Ishikawa Ongakudo, the Kanazawa Art Hall, and the ANA Crowne Plaza Kanazawa, which are walking distance from Kanazawa Station.
This year’s theme is “Innovation for the Next Generation Drug Discovery and Pharmacotherapy”. The goal of the meeting will be to share groundbreaking ideas and discuss new developments concerning overcoming intractable diseases, drug discovery and treatment, and pioneering technologies at the forefront of pharmaceutical research.
The meeting will be organized jointly by Faculty of Pharmacy, Institute of Medical, Pharmaceutical and Health Sciences, Kanazawa University, and Kanazawa University Hospital Pharmacy. This is the first meeting to have been held in Kanazawa since the 116th meeting in 1996 which drew 12,000 participants. Since that time, Kanazawa has experienced major changes as a result of the construction of the Hokuriku Shinkansen (Bullet Train) which opened in 2015 and has resulted in economic benefits from the large influx of tourists from both home and abroad. These changes contribute to both Kanazawa’s status as a regional Core City, and as a center of pharmaceutical research for the next generation.
Generally, conventions in smaller regional cities struggle with location and accommodation with talks dispersed around the city. However, through careful planning, we’ve consolidated all the venues into the area around Kanazawa Station. Even staying in Komatsu, Takaoka, Toyama etc. will be convenient as you can take the rapid train straight to Kanazawa Station in less than half an hour and the conference will be minutes away. There are many great places to eat around the station: Kanazawa is famous throughout Japan for its cuisine, especially for seafood and sushi. If you are so inclined, please take a wander and sample dishes downtown from Omi-cho Market, Korinbo, or Katamachi. The poster presentations will be held at the underground of “Motenashi (Welcome) Dome” and “Tsuzumi-mon”, which are the symbols of Kanazawa Station. It is our hope that these open areas will facilitate lively discussion. March in Kanazawa can be quite cool (10°C/50°F) so please remember to prepare accordingly especially if you are a presenter.
It’s been a number of years since pharmacy education shifted to a 4/6-year system. Through rapid developments in the field, in addition to fundamental medicine courses, pharmacy education and research have become more internationalized and advanced. The Pharmaceutical Society is the largest academic society involved in pharmaceutical sciences, and the theme of the conference reflects these new developments. At such conferences, researchers, educators, and pharmacists in a diverse range of disciplines can gain a deeper understanding of this field, and through new-found knowledge gain a broader picture of education and research thus enabling innovation within drug discovery and medical technology to be brought to future education.
Kanazawa is easily accessible from Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya taking no more than 2.5 hours by train. We look forward to this conference in Kanazawa playing an important role in this exciting future through the connections and discussions of the many participants and presenters.
This year’s theme is “Innovation for the Next Generation Drug Discovery and Pharmacotherapy”. The goal of the meeting will be to share groundbreaking ideas and discuss new developments concerning overcoming intractable diseases, drug discovery and treatment, and pioneering technologies at the forefront of pharmaceutical research.
The meeting will be organized jointly by Faculty of Pharmacy, Institute of Medical, Pharmaceutical and Health Sciences, Kanazawa University, and Kanazawa University Hospital Pharmacy. This is the first meeting to have been held in Kanazawa since the 116th meeting in 1996 which drew 12,000 participants. Since that time, Kanazawa has experienced major changes as a result of the construction of the Hokuriku Shinkansen (Bullet Train) which opened in 2015 and has resulted in economic benefits from the large influx of tourists from both home and abroad. These changes contribute to both Kanazawa’s status as a regional Core City, and as a center of pharmaceutical research for the next generation.
Generally, conventions in smaller regional cities struggle with location and accommodation with talks dispersed around the city. However, through careful planning, we’ve consolidated all the venues into the area around Kanazawa Station. Even staying in Komatsu, Takaoka, Toyama etc. will be convenient as you can take the rapid train straight to Kanazawa Station in less than half an hour and the conference will be minutes away. There are many great places to eat around the station: Kanazawa is famous throughout Japan for its cuisine, especially for seafood and sushi. If you are so inclined, please take a wander and sample dishes downtown from Omi-cho Market, Korinbo, or Katamachi. The poster presentations will be held at the underground of “Motenashi (Welcome) Dome” and “Tsuzumi-mon”, which are the symbols of Kanazawa Station. It is our hope that these open areas will facilitate lively discussion. March in Kanazawa can be quite cool (10°C/50°F) so please remember to prepare accordingly especially if you are a presenter.
It’s been a number of years since pharmacy education shifted to a 4/6-year system. Through rapid developments in the field, in addition to fundamental medicine courses, pharmacy education and research have become more internationalized and advanced. The Pharmaceutical Society is the largest academic society involved in pharmaceutical sciences, and the theme of the conference reflects these new developments. At such conferences, researchers, educators, and pharmacists in a diverse range of disciplines can gain a deeper understanding of this field, and through new-found knowledge gain a broader picture of education and research thus enabling innovation within drug discovery and medical technology to be brought to future education.
Kanazawa is easily accessible from Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya taking no more than 2.5 hours by train. We look forward to this conference in Kanazawa playing an important role in this exciting future through the connections and discussions of the many participants and presenters.
Professor Chisato Mukai
Chairman of the 138th Annual Meeting of the Pharmaceutical Society of Japan
(Vice President and Director of Kanazawa University)