MEXT support program for strengthening medical research to begin next fiscal year: 60-100M yen per year for institutions; 15M yen for researchers

The development of pharmaceuticals, medical devices and new treatments is directly related to international competitiveness. Countries around the world are focusing on life science research. However, in Japan, to cover the shortage of basic expenses appropriated from operating subsidies, medical researchers at university hospitals must spend more time on medical treatment and other activities. Further, reforms in the way doctors work have significantly reduced the amount of time they can dedicate to research. In response, the Japanese Ministry of Education (MEXT) will launch the Medical Research Support Program next fiscal year. The Program will provide integrated support for organizational efforts to improve the research environment and activities of researchers. Each institution will receive 60-100 million yen as expenses for improving the research environment. Each eligible researcher will also be offered 15 million yen in annual research expenses.

Japan's research capacity has been declining in recent years. One reason constantly pointed out is the decrease in hours that researchers can dedicate to actual research. For example, let us look at the case for assistant professors. They are often working in their first academic post, and can give a reasonable amount of time to research. Assistant professors in the sciences give 62.1% of their total working time to research. In engineering, the figure is 53.4%, and in agriculture, it is 56.6%. Thus, these academics give over half of their working time to research. However, in the health sciences field, the figure is very low, at just 31.9%. In fact, 15% of assistant professors at university hospitals do no research at all. Of those who do engage in research, 50% spend 5 hours or less per week on it.

Meanwhile, the importance of collaboration between basic medicine and clinical medicine has been highlighted. Rapid progress has been occurring not only in measurement technologies such as sequencers, multiomics and cryo-electron microscopy, but also in information sciences such as mathematics, AI and communications. The fusion of different academic fields is becoming increasingly important. Under these circumstances, for medical science to improve its research capabilities, personnel with knowledge in different fields need to be secured. These personnel will include doctoral degree holders in fields other than medicine.

Dr. Ryozo Nagai, Dean of the Graduate School of Medicine at Jichi Medical University, comments as follows. "Translational research in both directions, from basic to clinical and from clinical to basic, is a global trend. Even outside medical schools, researchers in the biological sciences, mainly PhDs, are publishing extremely high-impact papers. Research that combines medical science and other fields is increasingly necessary."

Dr. Masaru Iwasaki directs the Translational & Clinical Research Core Centers Project, at the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED). He added, "I don't feel that PhDs and medical doctors (MDs) are really interacting on campus. In future medical research, PhDs and MDs will have to team up to conduct research. Otherwise, they will not be able to get their research into major journals."

Seiichi Matsuo, head of the Tokai National Higher Education and Research System, commented: "When we studied abroad ourselves, we were allowed to concentrate on our research in the U.S. (because we did not have medical licenses in the U.S.). I hope today's MDs have the opportunity to go abroad, even for a few months."

The Medical Research Support Program provides integrated support for researchers' activities and organizational efforts to improve the research environment, thereby securing research time concurrently with enhancing the diversity and mobility of researchers. Specifically, the program will assist organizational efforts to secure research time, such as setting research implementation dates, securing research support personnel and digitizing research. Also, the programs will assist organizational efforts to enhance diversity and mobility, such as forming research teams consisting of diverse personnel of different disciplines or promoting brain circulation with neighboring universities, the industry, and international organizations.

Each institution will develop specific plans for these efforts. The plans must specify requirements to be put in place, including: increasing the number of staff physicians who are primarily responsible for medical treatment, reviewing medical operations by promoting digital transformation, reviewing personnel and organizational management systems to eliminate academic inbreeding. Other requirements include: creating synergies through collaboration with different fields, such as research cooperation with PhDs in other fields, and promoting international brain circulation, such as cross-organizational mobility and training of researchers.

Comprehensive and base-strengthening measures are planned for large-scale universities that include clinical research core hospitals. If a large-scale system is needed, such as to strengthen drug discovery, the Program will support research expenses of 100 million yen for the institution. Also, 15 million yen per year will be provided for each of about eight researchers. It is planned to select about four projects for the Program.

Small- and medium-sized universities in local areas do not have as many human and material resources. However, in some cases, their research achievements in individual fields surpass those of large research universities. Therefore, support will be provided based on the characteristics of the university and the need to develop medical and healthcare researchers. As support based on institutional characteristics/network potential, 60 million yen will be allocated to institutions. Research funds of 15 million yen per year will be provided to around 10 people. Support will be offered on the premise that networks with other universities will be developed. The aim is to select around 6 to 8 projects for the Program.

A major feature of this Program is that it will provide support tailored to the situation of each individual researcher. The researchers will be selected by each organization to work on a research theme of national strategic importance (e.g., drug discovery). This means that the strategies of each university will be put to the test.