Tokyo Medical And Dental University

1. GENERAL

Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) is the only comprehensive medical university in Japan that has both undergraduate and graduate programs in medicine and dentistry. The undergraduate programs are offered through the Faculty of Medicine and Faculty of Dentistry, and prepare students to be medical and dental professionals. Our graduate programs in Medical and Dental Sciences and Health Sciences produce leaders who go into research (basic research and clinical-based research), education or a combination of such work. Many professors teach and conduct cutting edge research in their respective Faculty or at one of our specialized research institutes, such as the Medical Research Institute or the Institute of Biomaterials and Bioengineering.

2. EDUCATION

Today, approximately 3,000 students are pursuing medical, dental, and life science degrees at TMDU, with a nearly equal number of students in undergraduate and graduate programs. Undergraduates begin their career at the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences to ensure a well-rounded education. After moving on to the Faculty of Medicine or Faculty of Dentistry, students concentrate on a curriculum that is increasingly integrated between medical and dental sciences and utilizes an inter-professional educational approach, just as graduate students at TMDU have traditionally enjoyed.

In the effort to inspire an attitude of intellectual curiosity in its undergraduates, TMDU sends many students to different institutions, such as Imperial College London, King’s College London Dental Institute, and TMDU’s international outreach centers in Ghana, Chile, and Thailand. In addition, TMDU dispatches selected faculty members to Harvard Medical School for the purpose of spurring innovation in curriculum development. In all, TMDU offers over 200 life science degree programs at its two graduate schools. In addition, thousands of patients are treated daily at the attached university hospitals of medicine and dentistry, institutions that further facilitate the school’s educational efforts, basic and clinical research activities, and community service.

Strengthening governance and curriculum quality control to help realize TMDU’s vision for education, the Institute of Education has established in 2016 and assists in the drafting of a consistent university-wide policy that covers all aspects of TMDU’s educational functions, including the selection of applicants for admission, liberal arts education, undergraduate education, graduate school education, and continuing education, and the formulation of a curriculum firmly grounded in that policy. Through a continuous improvement in quality and long-term enhancement of the teaching capabilities of the faculty, the Institute of Education works to ensure that education at TMDU exceeds the international standard.

3. RESEARCH

In April 2017, Institute of Research has been launched for organizing all TMDU research activities. This Institute formulates research strategies at this institution, and supports the implementation of advanced research. By promoting the collection and strategic use of research resources at TMDU and assisting in the creation, protection, and utilization of intellectual property, it facilitates cooperation among government, industry and academia.

Institute of Research has 8 centers to promote specialized research areas and also support and manage diverse research activities in TMDU from various angles. Among them, Bioresource Research Center has advanced facilities to collect and maintain high-quality data and tissue samples from patients at TMDU hospitals with the aim of discovering new causes for disease and developing personalized medicine. Research Center for Industry Alliances literally promotes collaboration between industry and TMDU research. In particular, Medical Innovation Promotion Center supports processes to make the novel knowledge and technology developed at TMDU translated into practical clinical use.

The new Organ and Tissue Neogenesis Consortium was launched in September 2017. It takes as its key concept “moving from regeneration to neogeneration.” Building on the foundation provided by TMDU’s accumulated experience and track record in regenerative medicine, it hopes to create a new paradigm of “neogenerative medicine” that goes beyond regenerative medicine. The consortium aims to build an international center for research on neogenerative medicine by working in concert with public institutions and with researchers and private companies in Japan and overseas. TMDU intends to accelerate efforts to train globally minded young professionals who will play an active role in the work of the consortium, both domestically and internationally.

In 2018, TMDU established a new framework “Open Innovation System“ to expand and accelerate our industry-oriented activities. Above all, it is notable that global companies such as Sony, Yamaha, Hitachi take advantage of the comprehensive open innovation partnership program to develop their business in medical and dental field. In these partnerships and all of its activities, TMDU has one ultimate goal: to serve the needs of patients and their families, in Japan and around the world, by working to fulfill its mission statement of “Cultivating Professionals with Knowledge and Humanity”.

4. INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION

By strengthening international aspects of the TMDU and, in particular, promoting university-wide globalization in the fields of education, research, and medical treatment, the Institute of Global Affairs has been established in 2016 and aims to assist in achieving TMDU’s goal, as a world-leading integrated medical university under the vision of “Cultivating Professionals with Knowledge and Humanity, thereby Contributing to People’s Well-being”.

TMDU has been selected as an institution to receive support under Top Global University Project which the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) since 2014 to carry out education and research of the global level, which deserves to be ranked in the top 100 universities in the world.

Our concept which was highly appreciated at the time of selection is entitled, “Concept for cultivating human resources that can promote TMDU-type global health: taking on the challenge of improving the level of health on the global scale.” Aiming to improve the level of health on the global scale, Japan—based on its experience and accomplishments in the health care field—will serve a central role in achieving constructive continuance with the world and cultivating human resources that promote global health.

The university’s three overseas research/education centres are also central to its educational and research goals. The Ghana–TMDU Research Center at the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research at the University of Ghana concentrates on the research of emerging and re-emerging tropical diseases, including malaria, HIV, tuberculosis and neglected tropical diseases. The Latin American Collaborative Research Center in Chile builds on the foundation laid by TMDU, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and institutions in South America to detect and treat colon cancer at the earliest stage possible. The third centre, the Chulalongkorn University–TMDU Research and Education Collaboration Center in Thailand, facilitates a great deal of cooperation between the two schools, especially in the dental field.

TMDU currently has approximately 370 international students, who are predominantly enrolled in the graduate school. In fact, despite its relatively small size, TMDU has the largest number of international students in the medical and dental fields of any national/public university in Japan. TMDU not only hosts a large number of international students, but also annually sends about 300 students to mainly overseas affiliated universities to broaden and deepen their horisons. TMDU is also recruiting outstanding young scientists from around the world for assistant professorship positions focused on medical science research through its tenure track initiative.

TMDU has established two Joint Degree programs with the University of Chile (Chile) and the Chulalongkorn University (Thiland), and has been cooperatively working and cultivating long-lasting relationsships, to advance the educational philosophy of TMDU “To train medical professionals with a rich international quality”, and to enhance global competitiveness.

Joint Degree is an integrated, international academic program whereby Japanese and foreign universities jointly organize curricula and confer a single academic degree on a person completing the curricula under the names of the presidents of the universities concerned.