May 2024 Luncheon: “A New Approach to Investigate the Brain: Constructing Neural Circuits Outside of Our Body”

We are pleased to invite you to our May 2024 Luncheon with Prof. Dr. Yoshiho Ikeuchi (Associate Professor, Institute of Industrial Science & Institute for AI and Beyond, The University of Tokyo) and Mr. Tomoya Duenki (PhD Student, Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo), who will deliver a presentation on their latest research on the brain and neural networks.

Limited access to a living human brain tissue and species-specific differences of animal studies have made it challenging to study exact mechanisms of the brain. Recent progress in stem cell research have seen the development of lab grown artificial tissues known as “neural organoids,” providing new ways to investigate human brain development, function, and diseases. However, while these neural organoids can mimic local structures and circuits, reproducing the brain’s unique macroscopic neural circuits has been challenging.

In their presentation for the SCCIJ, Prof. Dr. Ikeuchi and Mr. Duenki (The University of Tokyo) will present the new engineering method they have developed to mimic such neural circuits by connecting neural organoids using our custom-design culture chips. The ability to study lab-grown human neural circuits will improve our knowledge of how these networks form and change over time in different situations and may lead to improved treatments for diseased conditions.

Date & Time:	Tuesday, May 21, 2024 12:00-14:00 (D.O.: 11:45)
Venue:	The Tokyo EDITION, Toranomon (MAP) Meeting Studios I-III, 2F (The entrance to the hotel is shown here)
Entry Fee:	Members: JPY 6,500 or 1 SCCIJ Voucher 2024 Non-Members: JPY 8,000
Registration:	(Deadline: May 12, 2024) Please inform us of dietary restrictions if any. No-shows/cancellations after deadline will be fully charged SCCIJ members will be prioritized.
Concept:	This event consists in a 3-course lunch followed by a presentation (and Q&A). The setting is ideal for networking. Participants are typically members of the Swiss-Japanese business community, but non-members are also welcome to join. Seats are not attributed (free seating). Dress code is business / business casual.
Disclaimer:	The SCCIJ may film and take photographs of this event. If you participate, please be noted that these pictures and videos may be used in various media, such as the SCCIJ website, SCCIJ social networking sites, and SCCIJ promotional materials. If you do not want to appear on these pictures and/or videos, kindly notify the SCCIJ staff at the event. The views expressed by the speaker(s) may not necessarily reflect those of the SCCIJ as an organization.
Inquiries:	By e-mail to info@sccij.jp

Biographies of the Speakers:

Prof. Dr. Yoshiho Ikeuchi received his Ph.D degree in 2007 at the Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology at the University of Tokyo. He did his postdoctoral neuroscience research at Harvard Medical School from 2007 to 2013, and at Washington University in St. Louis from 2013 to 2014. He was appointed as Lecturer in 2014, and then Associate Professor in 2018 at Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo. He is also affiliated with the Institute for AI and Beyond since 2020. His goal of research is to create nervous tissue (organoids) from human multipotent stem cells (iPS cells) and to functionalize them in order to better understand the mechanisms of the brain. His group has successfully developed technology to connect neural organoids via an axon bundle which mimic neuronal circuits in the human body.

Mr. Tomoya Duenki is a PhD student at the Ikeuchi lab who aims to leverage advances in biomedical sciences to create new technologies to better understand human brain function. He received his master’s degree in biomedical engineering from ETH Zurich and has gained hands-on research experience in neuroengineering and biomanufacturing at RIKEN Center for Brain Science in Japan and the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University. Before joining the Ikeuchi lab he has been working at the Embassy of Switzerland in Japan to connect and facilitate exchanges between the countries in research, education, science and technology.