UTokyo-IIS held a seminar titled “Delivering the Vision — Closing the gap between academic research and society” on June 13, 2022, at the university’s New York Office to belatedly showcase the facility that underwent major renovations in 2020. The seminar focused on the institute’s research activities at the boundary between life science and engineering. It demonstrated IIS efforts to facilitate further research and spark innovation through interdisciplinary dialogue and collaboration among researchers, engineers, designers and those outside the university who are willing to support such research. Participants in this thought-provoking event were Professor Miles Pennington (design-led innovation); Associate Professor Yoshiho Ikeuchi (biomolecular and cellular engineering); and Associate Professor Yoshiyuki Kawazoe (design of architecture), all from IIS. UTokyo President and former IIS Director General Teruo Fujii joined the session online from Japan as a keynote speaker.

A research group led by the Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, finds that sensory neurons in human skin modulate melanocytes via the secretion of Repulsive Guidance Molecule B