1. Home
  2. News & Publications
  3. News
  4. News 2011

Jun. 24, 2011

Opening of KRIBB-RIKEN Collaboration Research Center for Chemical Biology

On June 22, 2011, the RIKEN Advanced Science Institute (ASI) and the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB) held an event to commemorate the opening of the KRIBB-RIKEN Collaboration Research Center for Chemical Biology on the KRIBB Ochang campus. The event included the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding related to the new center, the unveiling of the center sign, congratulatory remarks by invited guests, presentations on the background of the center and the focus of its research, and a tour of the center laboratories.

RIKEN and KRIBB have implemented a number of joint research projects since entering into a general collaborative partnership in 2006. In September last year, a memorandum for research collaboration was exchanged between the RIKEN ASI Chemical Biology Department, headed by Hiroyuki Osada, and the KRIBB Chemical Biology Research Center, headed by Jong Seog Ahn, which further strengthened ties between the two organizations through the exchange of researchers and collaborative research. On the basis of this record, the collaborative laboratory established within KRIBB was designated as a Global R&D Center (GRDC) program and has now been reorganized and renamed the KRIBB-RIKEN Collaboration Research Center for Chemical Biology. In addition to this, and to further reinforce the collaborative relationship as well as to establish a leadership role in the field, a RIKEN-KRIBB Joint Research Team was created on June 22, 2011, within the Chemical biology core Facility of RIKEN ASI's Chemical Biology Department.

The KRIBB-RIKEN Collaboration Research Center for Chemical Biology and RIKEN-KRIBB Joint Research Team will carry out joint research in the field of chemical biology. Specifically, research will focus on seeking compound candidates for new medical and agricultural chemicals from natural compounds and their derivatives. Access to the resources of both KRIBB and RIKEN is expected to accelerate this research. There is also an ongoing and active exchange of researchers. RIKEN's Yukihiro Asami has already been working at KRIBB for some time, and this fiscal year there are plans for KRIBB researcher to go to RIKEN. The KRIBB-RIKEN Collaboration Research Center will be the second ASI center for chemical biology collaboration, following the RIKEN-Max Planck Joint Research Center.

Image of Joung and Tamao shaking hands

KRIBB Director Joung and RIKEN ASI Director Tamao

Group photo of the opening event
A diagram showing the cooperation between KRIBB and RIKEN

Unveiling of the new center sign

Image of the unveiling of the new center sign Image of people unveiled the sign Image of the unveiled sign

Top