Current President’s Message
Greetings from the 16th President of Japanese Society for the Study of Xenobiotics (JSSX)
As the successor to former president Prof. Hiroshi Yamazaki, I was appointed as the 16th president of the Japanese Society for the Studies on Xenobiotics (JSSX) from December 11, 2019 during the annual meeting in Tsukuba. All the past presidents worked very hard to develop and expand the society with their heart and soul, and thus I feel heavy responsibility. I will do my best for two years together with the council members including the president-elect Prof. Tomiyoshi Yamashita of Kyoto University. I would like to ask all the members for their active participation in the JSSX activities. Below is my greeting as the new president.
With the success of past presidents, councilors, representatives and members, the JSSX has always been a world leader in the drug metabolism and pharmacokinetic (DMPK) field, especially in the researches of drug-metabolizing enzymes and transporters. On the other hand, in recent years, the drug modalities have expanded to antibodies, modified antibodies, oligonucleotides, peptides with non-natural structures, cells, and genes. Furthermore, with the progress of the 3Rs concept for animal experiments, it is required to construct novel experimental platforms as alternatives to animals. Now, it has become possible to use human iPS differentiated cells and some organoids. And these data are expected to use in the modeling and simulation of human PK. Nowadays, I am confident that the JSSX is required to contribute to researches of these new modalities and new evaluation technologies.
It was an activity from the 15th term, but at the 34th annual meeting in Tsukuba, we held an Asian joint symposium with the participation of our friendship societies in China, Korea and Thailand. Recognizing the rapid progress of DMPK research in Asian countries, we believe that we should continue to progress our collaborations. In addition, the next 2020 annual meeting will be held on the Hawaii in collaboration with the International Society for the Study of Xenobiotics (ISSX) North American region under chair of Prof. Hiroshi Yamazaki. As an academic society, we will actively support the participation of young researchers, regardless of whether they are in academia or companies. We would be grateful if you could participate as much as possible.
Needless to say, the society is not for the councilors, but for each of society members who gathered under the flag of the JSSX, and the place where the members present their own researches, and raise scientific levels each other through hot discussion. On the other hand, as a general incorporated association, we also have a mission to contribute to drug discovery and medical care in Japan from the DMPK field. As I asked at the beginning, I would like to ask all the JSSX members, including the representatives, for their active participation in our activities and give us your constructive opinions.