Italian Minister of Health visits RIKEN Yokohama Campus

On July 2, Giulia Grillo, the Italian Minister of Health, paid a visit to the RIKEN Yokohama Campus, following her participation in the recent G20 summit in Osaka. Executive Director Hidetoshi Kotera and Yokohama Branch Director Naoki Saito gave her an introductory overview of RIKEN. Minister Grillo was interested in research at that could lead to applications in human health and how RIKEN is addressing them, particularly in the understanding and treatment of diseases. Piero Carninci, Deputy Center Director of the Center of Integrative Medical Sciences (IMS), gave a summary of his center’s activities and three other laboratory leaders at the center provided concrete examples on how a research center like IMS can translate basic research into future therapies, such as pharmacogenomics (Dr. Mushiroda), exome sequencing (Dr. Momozawa), and cancer stem cells (Dr. Ishikawa). Minister Grillo also enjoyed a tour of the Next Generation Genome Sequencing Facility.

Minister Grillo (right) and IMS Deputy Director Carninci