Greetings

The Center for Photodynamic Medicine (CPDM) was established on April 1, 2017 as a core facility within Kochi Medical School Hospital. It was Japan’s first comprehensive research facility aimed at developing and broadly implementing clinical photodynamic technologies. Under the leadership of its first director Dr. Kazuhiro Hanazaki, the CPDM recruited talented staff researchers and invited nationally recognized experts in photodynamic medicine to serve as visiting professors. (These professors also acted as scientific advisors to the CPDM). The Center soon grew into a cross-disciplinary organization dedicated to studying clinical photodynamic technologies. Consequently, its status was elevated from a core facility of Kochi Medical School Hospital to an independent research institute affiliated with the medical school. Moreover, the Center was officially recognized by the university. Following the approval of 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) as an intraoperative diagnostic drug for the photodynamic diagnosis (PDD) of bladder cancer, the CPDM performed many basic and clinical studies. The results of these studies were presented at academic conferences and published in prestigious journals. Furthermore, we filed international patent applications for our inventions that had been developed through research collaborations. The CPDM also engaged in many other scientific activities (such as global academic exchanges) and thus contributed significantly to the progress of photodynamic medicine.

Since April 1, 2020, I have been serving as the second director of the CPDM. I am fully committed to continuing the research activities and projects launched during the tenure of the former director. I will also expand the CPDM’s global research cooperation network and strengthen its collaborative relationships with academic and industry partners. The current partners include the Group for Photocontrol of Life and Medicine (LiPhoto) within the Life Science and Technology Open Innovation Hub (LiHub) at the Tokyo Institute of Technology; Osaka University Graduate School of Engineering; Osaka City University Graduate School of Engineering; SBI Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd.; Neopharma Japan Co., Ltd.; the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) - Medical University of Bahrain (Manama, Bahrain); the University of South Australia School of Engineering; and Apollo Hospital (Hyderabad, India). Furthermore, with the support of many CPDM faculty members, I will lead the staff researchers’ efforts to advance the scholarly study and clinical development of our photodynamic technology and its related disciplines. We intend to pursue original ideas with more innovative approaches and develop novel drugs and techniques of greater clinical value. These new concepts and skills from Kochi will be widely implemented to promote people’s health and longevity locally, nationally, and even globally. We are confident that this will enable us to contribute to society in a positive and constructive manner. The CPDM will continue growing and shining brighter and brighter. So, stay tuned!