OIST-KEIO Showcase Talk Series 5 -Science Meets Society: Exploring the Nexus of Planetary Well-being for a Sustainable Future

OIST-KEIO Showcase Talk Series 5 -Science Meets Society: Exploring the Nexus of Planetary Well-being for a Sustainable Future
Thursday November 16th, 2023 to Friday November 17th, 2023 (All day)
11/16-L4E48(OIST)/Zoom, 11/17-L5D23(OIST)/Zoom *Registration Required

Description

Symposium Abstract:

Opening the Doors to Interdisciplinary Futures

The symposium title is "Science Meets Society: Exploring the Nexus of Planetary Well-being for a Sustainable Future."

This event underscores the pivotal role of knowledge and collaboration in forging a sustainable future brought to life through the strategic partnership between OIST and Keio University.

OIST and Keio University have successfully blended top-down and bottom-up approaches, charting new research paths and nurturing young scholars since 2019. In recent years the two universities jointly hosted “OIST-Keio Showcase Talk” series, virtually for the first three series and face-to-face for the latest session in Keio’s Yagami Campus. In this joint symposium first time held at OIST, the strengths of existing hubs such as WPI and COI-NEXT are maximized, fostering a complementary relationship that facilitates collective exploration of the world’s challenges.

Keio University will be represented by top-tier speakers from various faculties, starting with Dr. Kohei Itoh, the president, including the School of Medicine, Faculty of Science and Technology, the Faculty of Law, Faculty of Economics, and KGRI. OIST will bring together experts from the Quantum Information Science and Technology Unit, Marine Climate Change Unit, Complexity Science and Evolution Unit, Marine eco-evo-devo Unit, and other young scientists. A SONY Computer Science Laboratories (CSL) researcher will also join us to grace the event as one of the distinguished speakers.

Program

Please download the program here.

Scientific Organizers:

  • Dr. Nicholas M. Luscombe (OIST)
  • Dr. Timothy Ravasi (OIST)
  • Dr. Yuko Kimijima (Keio University Global Research Institute)

Keynote Speaker

Kohei Itoh, President, Keio University

Talk Title: Practical quantum computing
Abstract: This talk describes quantum computing hardware and algorithm/software research I have been involved with. The first half discusses development of silicon-based quantum computer hardware. It contains a variety of fundamental solid-state physics research needed towards development of quantum computing chips. The second half describes algorithm/software research at Keio Quantum Computing Center towards practical application of quantum computers.

 

OIST Speakers 

1

Dr. Kae Nemoto,

Professor

Quantum Information Science and Technology Unit

Quantum Science and Machine Learning

Coming soon...

2

Dr. Ulf Dieckmann,

Professor

Complexity Science and Evolution Unit

Innovative Integrative Assessments for Promoting Sustainable Ecosystem Services

Ecosystem services rendered by fisheries are key sources of nutrition and revenue for billions of people worldwide. Traditionally, quantitative tools for managing these important living renewable resources have merely concentrated on optimizing catches. Here we describe innovative research enabling more powerful and more integrative quantitative assessments accounting for multiple eco-evolutionary impacts, multiple societal objectives, multiple stakeholder groups, and multiple fairness concepts. Supporting ecosystem management and stakeholder reconciliation, the developed toolbox is applicable to a wide range of ecosystem services and societal constellations.

3

Dr. Timothy Ravasi,

Professor

Marine Climate Change Unit

Adaptation and Acclimation of Coral Reef Fish as a Response to Climate Change

Anthropogenic activities are leading to global climate change at an unprecedented rate. A plethora of studies have suggested that these climate anomalies can lead to serious consequences for the marine environment, especially for tropical species that constitute them. Understanding the mechanisms of how marine species cope with environmental change is critical to understanding their fate in a changing planet. Further, in this talk, I will address the contribution of mechanisms of rapid evolution/phenotypic plasticity to the adaptive response of coral reef fish to changing environments.

4

Dr. Vincent Laudet,

Professor

Marine Eco-Evo-Devo Unit

From Clownfish to Nemo and back again: What marine biology research can bring to the public

Even before the popular movies Finding Nemo (2003) and Finding Dory (2016), clownfish were undoubtedly the most charismatic and sought-after marine aquarium species. Their bold colors, long life span, and gregarious personality make them ideal pets and fascinating model organisms for research in marine science. In this talk I will explore this double personality and show how research and outreach activities (in particular public aquarium) can allow us to pass from Clownfish to Nemo and back again. I am not a social scientist and will provide this view from my past experience as a marine scientist but also as a former director of an historical marine station largely open to the public.

5

Dr. Shunichi Kasahara,

Visiting Researcher

OIST/SONY SCL

Cybernetic Humanity :Exploring the new humanity emerging from the integration of humans and computers

When humans integrate with computers, to what extent are we still ourselves? Computers are no longer just tools for humans, but are deeply intervening in our bodies and behavior. When humans integrate with computers and acquire abilities and different bodies beyond what we currently possess, how do we define our own humanity? I am researching “Cybernetic Humanity,” which is a new concept of humanity that emerges from the integration of humans and computers, through the intersection of computer science and human science. My talk will focus on augmenting perception, cognition, and embodiment, elucidating the ‘self’ through subjective experiences and understanding the dynamics of humanity that are woven by the integration of humans and computers.

6

Dr. Yuliya Kulikova,

Science and Technology Associate

Science and Technology Group

Family-Friendly Policies and Fertility: What Firms Got to Do With It?

Many high-income countries, including Japan, suffer from low fertility rates. Governments around the globe introduce family-friendly policies (FFPs) to increase fertility. However, when such FFPs are evaluated, firms’ reactions are usually not considered.  At the same time, considering firms is essential as they might respond to FFPs by changes in wage bargaining processes, hiring, firing, and promotions. In this paper, we study how family-friendly policies affect fertility and labor market outcomes of women taking into account firms’ responses to the introduction of such policies. We build a comprehensive framework in which government defines FFPs, women endogenously take decisions on labor market participation and fertility and firms react to the policies. We use this framework for evaluation, testing, and comparisons of different FFPs, such as employment protection, childcare and hiring subsidies, short work schedules, and others.

7

Dr. Jamila Rodrigues,

Visiting Researcher

 

Marine Climate Change Unit

Measuring what matters: Japan coastal communities wellbeing- a transdisciplinary approach

Coming Soon...

8

Ms. Clea Mehnia Laouar,

PhD Student

Machine Learning and Data Science (MLDS) Unit

Large scale similarity search with Optimal Transport

The Wasserstein distance, often referred to as the Word Mover's Distance (WMD) is a powerful tool used for comparing probability distributions. It finds significant application in the field of Natural Language Processing, such as document classification and retrieval tasks. Nonetheless, its drawback lies in its computational complexity, rendering it impractical for extensive distribution comparisons. In this talk, I will introduce a simple and effective nearest neighbor search, which relies on an approximation of the Wasserstein distance. The developed method offers computation speeds approximately three orders of magnitude faster than the standard Wasserstein distance, while retaining similar performance levels.

KEIO Speakers

1

Dr. Yuko Kimijima,

Professor

Faculty of Law

Avatars, AI, Identity, and IP – Cyber-Physical Sustainability in Law and Ethics

Our personal, social, and economic life is extended from physical space to cyberspace. While traveling by train, you communicate via SNS, shop online, or play games using avatars. While attending a webinar, you have an online meeting with your colleagues and text back and forth with your family. Fake news is produced every day by mobilizing politicians on YouTube. AI learns how we talk, and avatars and robots with built-in AI look and talk like us.
Avatars and AI are developed to extend our capabilities. Do they extend or represent our personality? Can you control and monopolize your avatar as if it is yourself? What if they are controlled by someone else by hacking or imitating your avatars?
I will introduce our Moonshot project: “Intellectual Property Protection and Social and Policy Development of Cybernetic Avatar (CA)”, and discuss sustainable law and ethics in both cyber and physical spaces.

2

Dr. Keigo ​Komamura,

Professor

Faculty of Law

Challenges from Braintech in Our Society : Legal/Ethical Perspective on Neuroscience and the Future Technology Frontier

In Japan, a national project, Moonshot Goal 1, started to promote the research of neuroscience and the development of its technologies in 2021. Under the umbrella of this project, IoB-S (“Internet-of-Brains”-Society) has been conducting legal and ethical research on the current state and future of braintech based mainly on computational neuroscience technologies such as BMI, BA, and CA. As the project facilitator of IoB-S, Prof. Komamura will introduce the trend of Braintech, which is expected to be widely used beyond the medical field, and share with OIST colleagues the new trend of legal studies on it, Neurolaw, and the implications Braintech brings.

3

Dr. Mayu Muramatsu,

Associate Professor

Faculty of Science and Technology

A phase-field model toward quantum annealing - application to the phase- separation structure of a diblock polymer

Based on a phase-field model of the phase-separation structure of diblock polymers, we formulate a new model applicable to the next- generation accelerator, the Ising machine. [1] Recently, Ising machines, including quantum annealing devices, attract overwhelming attention as a new technology. On the other hand, although phase-field models have demonstrated high performance in materials development, they require a long time to reach equilibrium. In this study, we show the calculation of the phase-separation structure of a diblock polymer as the equilibrium state using phase-field model by an Ising machine. The model can be solved by a large-scale quantum annealing machine with a significant acceleration. The significant acceleration of phase-field simulations by quantum techniques will push materials development to the next stage.

4

Dr. Shonosuke Sugasawa,

Associate Professor

Faculty of Economics

Statistical Modeling and Prediction for Spatio-temporal Data

Data equipped with spatial and time information is called spatio-temporal data and has widely appeared in a variety of scientific fields. In this talk, we review techniques of statistical and machine learning methods for spatio-temporal data to predict unobserved data in the future or unobserved locations. In particular, we introduce a general framework for combining multiple statistical and machine learning models to predict with high accuracy as well as interpretability. Further, we demonstrate the usefulness of these techniques in two data analysis tasks in different fields; one is evaluating prices of real estate and the other is predicting the amount of marine resources.

5

Dr. Koji Atarashi,

Associate Professor

School of Medicine

Gut Microbiota and Longevity

The gut microbiota is a complex community of trillions of microorganisms that plays a important role in human health. To investigate the gut microbiota's role in healthy aging and longevity, we collaborated with the Keio Center for Supercentenarian Medical Research. We collected fecal samples from centenarians aged 100 or older , elderly adults aged 85–89, and young adults aged 21–55 to compare their gut microbiomes and fecal metabolomes. Centenarians had a distinctive gut microbiome profile with an enrichment of microbes involved in secondary bile acid metabolism. This was associated with elevated levels of various isoforms of lithocholic acid (LCA) in their fecal samples. Notably, one of these LCA isoforms, iso-allo-LCA, had a potent antimicrobial effect against Gram-positive pathogens. These findings suggest that specific bile acid metabolism pathways may play a critical role in mitigating the risk of pathobiont infections and maintaining intestinal homeostasis, potentially contributing to healthy aging and longevity.

6

Dr. Eiji Yamamoto,

Senior Assistant Professor

Faculty of Science and Technology

Complex phenomena of biomolecules: multiscale molecular dynamics simulation approaches from atom to mesoscale

Spatiotemporal complexity in multicomponent systems is crucial for biological functions. Nonequilibrium phenomena, such as anomalous diffusion and fluctuations, are observed in these systems and play a role in regulating biological functions. Using molecular dynamics simulations, we investigate molecular behavior in biological membranes and membraneless organelles. We find fluctuations in molecular diffusivity, which are attributed to both intra- and intermolecular interactions in heterogeneous media. We also introduce a mesoscale computational approach to clarify molecular diffusion and partitioning in such environments.

E. Yamamoto, et al, Science Adv. 3, e1601871 (2017), Science Adv. 6, eaay5736 (2020).
E. Yamamoto, et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 126, 128101 (2021).
K. Sakamoto, et al., PNAS Nexus 2, pgad258 (2023).

7

Dr. Tomohisa Sujino,

Assistant Professor

 

School of Medicine

Elucidating the role of the small intestine as a gatekeeper in diseases

The small intestine is responsible for digestion and absorption, and is also known as a defense against intestinal bacterial and food antigens and as a place for the education of immune cells. We focused on local immune cell regulation in the intestinal tract and its impact on the whole body using single-cell dynamic imaging and single-cell RNA-seq analysis (Science 2016, Nature Immunology 2021, Cell Rep. 2022, Nature Com. 2023). We recently discovered that the intestinal microbiota-intestinal tract jointly regulates intestinal immunity and myelitis through the tryptophan metabolite (Cell Rep. 2023). We present translational research using clinical specimens from patients to elucidate the mechanisms of immune regulation (Front. in Immunol. 2022, Cell. Mol. Gastro. and Hepato. 2023, Nat. Rev. Gastro. and Hepato. 2023, Riken-Keio Humed Project).

8

Dr. Hiroshi Yagi,

Assistant Professor

School of Medicine

Biological Scaffold: Towards a New Standard in Regenerative Therapy

We will introduce the excellent properties of a biologically derived extracellular matrix that has been researched for ten years at Keio University School of Medicine using an efficient extraction technique. This versatile material is supported by a wealth of research data and can be applied to a wide range of purposes, including as a new medical device for tissue regeneration, as a material for three-dimensional cultivation, and ultimately, for the creation of transplantable artificial organs.

Flash Talk - Introduction of Research

OIST

1

Dr. Makoto Yamada,

Assistant Professor

Machine Learning and Data Science (MLDS) Unit

TBD

Coming soon...

2

Dr. Marco Terenzio,

Assistant Professor

Molecular Neuroscience Unit

Molecular dynamics driving axonal phase separation and axonal translation

Neurons are highly polarized cells with an elongated axon that extends far away from the cell body. The axonal compartment is essential to neuronal function and its maintenance is paramount for neuronal survival and impaired in neurodegenerative diseases. In order to maintain axonal homeostasis, neurons rely extensively on axonal transport of membranous organelles and other molecular complexes in addition to local translation of proteins.  We will discuss how axonal energy status regulates cytosol fluidity, phase separation and axonal translation in health and disease.

3

Dr. Benjamin Clifton,

Staff Scientist

Protein Engineering and Evolution Unit

TBD

Our laboratory's overarching focus is on evolutionary biochemistry. By uncovering the mechanisms through which protein acquire new functions, evolve, integrate into cellular pathways, and operate in crowded cellular environments, we aim to contribute significantly to the fields of enzyme engineering. Ultimately, our research yields valuable tools and advances the field of synthetic biology as a whole.

4

Drs. Franz Meitinger

Associate Professor

 

Cell Proliferation and Gene Editing Unit 

 

TBD

Coming soon...

5

Dr. Lea Picard​,

Postdoctoral Scholar

Cell Signal Unit 

Exploring the interplay between m6A methylation and CCR4-NOT during Influenza infection

Our lab focuses on CCR4-NOT, a major cellular complex with a central function in mRNA metabolism through deadenylation of the poly(A)-tail. Recruitment of CCR4-NOT to mRNAs can be done through various means, such as protein readers binding to m6A-modified mRNAs. This m6A modification is present on numerous viruses but its impact on viral replication is poorly understood. My project proposes to explore the interplay between m6A-modified mRNAs and CCR4-NOT during Influenza infection.

6

Dr.Vincenzo Calabrese,

Staff Scientist

 

Micro/Bio/Nanofluidics Unit

 

TBD

Coming soon...

KEIO

1

Dr. Yoko Hirose​,

Professor

Faculty of Policy Management

Faculty of Policy Management (International Politics, Comparative Politics, Political Development Studies, The Transcaucasus Area Studies)

I specialize in international politics and regional studies of the former USSR. Since last year, the works related to the Ukrainian war have increased dramatically, and I am also making many comments in the media, but my original main field is the South Caucasus, and I spent more than 1 year in Azerbaijan for my research.
On the other hand, Keio University were awarded the project related to economic security from the Cabinet Office and I am the leader of that project. This year, we are focusing on cybersecurity and food security within economic security, and are investigating technology and international policy trends. In this project, cooperation with outside parties is expected, so I would be happy if we could cooperate with everyone in economic security.
Thank you for your kind support.

2

Dr. Masatoshi Kokubo​,

Researcher

Graduate School of Law

Graduate School of Law (Neurolaw)

Coming soon...

3

Mr. Yuta Kojima,

PhD Student

 

Graduate School of Science and Technology

In my previous research, three dimensional defect data inside carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) specimen is predicted on the basis of the two dimensional stress distribution on the surface. The stress analysis is conducted using finite element method for simple shaped CFRP specimen with defect. The infrared stress measurement is performed on CFRP specimen with defect to obtain stress distributions on the surfaces. A convolutional neural network which predicts three-dimensional data of defect from stress distribution from infrared stress measurements is built with transfer learning.
In current study, model of prosthetic leg made by CFRP is chosen as the target. The graph neural network or transformer is employed. Both experimental data and numerical analysis results are used as the training data of stress distribution. Especially, the homogenized finite element analyses are conducted for considering various microstructure such as the plain weave and unidirectional structures. On the basis of the stress distributions on surface, the location and size of the defect in prosthetic leg is predicted through machine learning
 

4

Mr. Rio Honda​,

Master Student

 

Graduate School of Science and Technology

My current research interest is development deformation analysis and structure optimization methods by quantum annealing.
The topology optimization problem is the problem of finding a combination of components that provides high performance at low cost. However, when trying to solve a combinatorial optimization problem, such as a topology optimization problem, with the methods widely used today, it is possible to get stuck in a local solution during the computation. This makes the computational cost high.
In recent years, quantum computers, which can perform calculations faster than classical computers for some problems, have attracted attention. Among them, quantum annealing is specialized for solving combinatorial optimization problems. Therefore, we thought that quantum annealing could be applied to topology optimization to efficiently find a good shape.
Now we can perform topology optimization by quantum annealing for trusses and continuum elements.

5

Mr. Yuto Terashima,

Master Student

 

Graduate School of Science and Technology

My current research interest is in the area of multiscale simulation, coupling FEM (Finite Element Method) and MD (Molecular Dynamics). The coupled FEM-MD approach allows us to accurately represent coarse-scale structural deformations at the fine-scale and vice versa. This method is effective for studying the complex deformation of materials whose microstructure is known but whose constitutive laws are not. I specialize in understanding the mechanical properties of clathrate hydrates with complex deformations to safely utilize clathrate hydrates as a medium for various engineering fields (e.g. cooling process, seawater desalination, and carbon storage/transportation applications). However, the current limitation of this approach lies in the computational costs. The possible solution to reduce computational costs is utilizing tensor train decomposition or solving linear equations inherent in coupled FEM-MD.

6

Dr. Dai Kusumoto,

Assistant Professor

School of Medicine, Center for Preventive Medicine

School of Medicine (Cardiovascular disease, machine learning, single-cell omics, vascular biology)

We develop novel treatment for cardiovascular disease, such as heart failure and atherosclerosis, by focusing on vascular endothelial cells. We employ two approaches: deep learning-based image analysis, and single cell omics, to achieve them. First, we hypothesized that the morphology of cells changes under pathological cellular conditions, and it can be evaluated using deep learning-based image analysis. We have developed a disease scoring system based on AI, and conducted drug screening (Kusumoto D, Stem Cell Reports. 2018)(Kusumoto D, Nat commun. 2021). Furthermore, we performed single-cell RNA sequencing analysis to investigate the pathological characteristics of ECs in the heart, and proposed novel cardiovascular treatment targeting pathological EC-Fibroblasts crosstalk (Katuski T, Kusumoto D et al, bioRxiv. 2023 ).

7

Mr. So Takasugi,

PhD Student

 

Graduate School of Medicine (Sensory system, Synapse, Neuroscience)

My research focuses on the synapses in the peripheral nervous system which include somatic nervous system and autonomic nervous system.“Synaptopathy” is defined to be the series of brain disorders caused by synaptic dysfunction, such as ASD and Schizophrenia. Molecules and neural circuits related to these disorders have been studied extensively over the past decades in the central nervous system.
Therefore, I decided to focus on the role of substances that have a strong synaptogenic effect in the central nervous system that are also present in the PNS.
As a first step, I have focused on the molecule called Cbln1,
So far I found that Cbln1 is expressed in the Dorsal Root Ganglia and is essential for the transmission of a specific itch sensation induced by a substance called chloroquine, and may control the responsivity to this sensation depending on its amount of secretion.

Archives

Opening

 

Keynote Talk by Dr. Kohei Itoh (President, Keio)

 

Dr. Kae Nemoto / OIST Professor

"Quantum Science and Machine Learning"

 

 

Dr. Ulf Dieckmann / OIST Professor

"Innovative Integrative Assessments for Promoting Sustainable Ecosystem Services"

 

 

Dr. Timothy Ravasi / OIST Professor

"Adaptation and Acclimation of Coral Reef Fish as a Response to Climate Change"

 

 

Dr. Vincent Laudet / OIST Professor

"From Clownfish to Nemo and back again: What marine biology research can bring to the public"

 

 

Dr. Shunichi Kasahara / OIST Visiting Researcher

"Cybernetic Humanity :Exploring the new humanity emerging from the integration of humans and computers"

 

 

Dr. Yuliya Kulikova / OIST Science and Technology Associate

"Family-Friendly Policies and Fertility: What Firms Got to Do With It?"

 

 

Dr. Jamila Rodrigues / OIST Visiting Researcher

"Measuring what matters: Japan coastal communities wellbeing- a transdisciplinary approach"

 

 

Ms. Clea Mehnia Laouar / OIST PhD Student

"Large scale similarity search with Optimal Transport"

 

 

Dr. Yuko Kimijima / KEIO Professor

"Avatars, AI, Identity, and IP – Cyber-Physical Sustainability in Law and Ethics"

 

Dr. Keigo ​Komamura / KEIO Professor

"Challenges from Braintech in Our Society : Legal/Ethical Perspective on Neuroscience and the Future Technology Frontier"

 

 

Dr. Mayu Muramatsu / KEIO Associate Professor

"A phase-field model toward quantum annealing - application to the phase- separation structure of a diblock polymer"

 

 

Dr. Shonosuke Sugasawa / KEIO Associate Professor

"Statistical Modeling and Prediction for Spatio-temporal Data"

 

 

Dr. Koji Atarashi / KEIO Associate Professor

"Gut Microbiota and Longevity"

 

 

Dr. Eiji Yamamoto / KEIO Senior Assistant Professor

"Complex phenomena of biomolecules: multiscale molecular dynamics simulation approaches from atom to mesoscale"

 

 

Dr. Tomohisa Sujino / KEIO Assistant Professor

"Elucidating the role of the small intestine as a gatekeeper in diseases"

 

 

Dr. Hiroshi Yagi / KEIO Assistant Professor

"Biological Scaffold: Towards a New Standard in Regenerative Therapy"

 

 

Flash Talk: Introduction of Research

 

 

Registration for On-site Participation:

*OISTers are encouraged to participate on-site. There is lunch box/reception dinner information in the registration form.

*For OISTers: Participation in the symposium counts towards For-T(40-hour learning target).

-REGISTRATION IS CLOSED-

Registration for Online Participation:

-REGISTRATION IS CLOSED-

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