HomeDate: 2025-07-23
From May 14 through 16, 2025, the “UCLA–Kyoto University–Academia Sinica Pan Pacific Meeting” was held at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), bringing together over 900 top scholars from Taiwan, the United States, and Japan. This marked the first-ever tri-lateral symposium jointly organized by Academia Sinica, UCLA, and Kyoto University, under the theme “New Developments in Biomedical Sciences.”
Instead of focusing on a single topic, a wide range of issues were covered in this event, with experts in chemical biology, radiation therapy, systems biology, tumor immunology, and other fields joining to share their latest research findings.
This event was initiated by Dr. Fuyu Tamanoi, a former UCLA professor now at Kyoto University, and supported by the presidents of UCLA, Kyoto University, and Academia Sinica. President Nagahiro Minato of Kyoto University and President James C. Liao of Academia Sinica both attended. President Liao stated that “[t]his meeting provides an opportunity for scholars from the three institutions to engage in extensive exchanges and learn from each other, to better understand their strengths and identify areas for future development.” He also noted that, given current funding uncertainties faced by American universities, Academia Sinica will take the lead in hosting the second meeting next year.
During the three-day conference, Professor Tasuku Honjo, the 2018 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine, delivered a video lecture on immunotherapy and chemical biology on the first day, while UCLA’s Professor Owen Witte spoke on the progression from clinical needs to basic research in cancer therapy. On the second day, Professor Shinya Yamanaka, the 2012 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine, gave a keynote lecture on his research in induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells). On the final day, President James C. Liao of Academia Sinica presented his latest research in synthetic biology. Participants remarked that the symposium provided profound inspiration across multiple dimensions, including topics, discussions, and methodologies.
In addition to keynote lectures, nearly 30 seminars were held. Speakers from Academia Sinica included the Institute of Biomedical Sciences Director Yi-Chuang Chen, the Institute of Biomedical Sciences’ Shih-Yu Chen, the Genomics Research Center’s Kuo-I Lin, the Institute of Molecular Biology’s Sheng-Hong Chen, the Institute of Chemistry’s Hsiung-Lin Tu, and the Department of International Affairs Director Tzu-Ching Meng. They presented on topics such as neurodegenerative diseases and the immune system, post-translational modifications in plasma cell differentiation, cell death waves, proteomics analysis, and biointerface design and engineering.
