JCR International School 2016

Dates: July 28 (Thu.) ‐ July 30 (Sat.), 2016
Place: Karuizawa Prince Hotel West, Nagano, Japan

 Contents

•  Participants’ Voice
•  Photographs
•  Organizing Committee
• Timetable
• Program

 Participants Voice

Takahiro Iwata Japan

I had a great opportunity to participate in the JCR international school 2016 in this summer. Climate in Karuizawa was so comfortable and I could refresh my body and mind. It was the first time for me to present and discuss my research in English for half an hour. I had prepared my presentation carefully. The tutor of the session had given me many valuable advices before my presentation. However, in a question and answer session, it was difficult for me to explain what I wanted to say because I couldn’t exactly understand what questioners speak in English. This experience encouraged me to practice listening and speaking English more hard.
I learned a lot of current topics about not only basic science but also clinical rheumatology. In addition, at dinner and drinking parties, I drank beer and wine, and became friends with some young rheumatologists. It was very impressive and exciting for me, and I got motivated to conduct next research. I would like to thank for the JCR committee, the tutors, and all the colleagues in this summer school. I hope this wonderful international school will continue in the future.

Jin Kyun Park South Korea

It was more than a pleasure to participate in the JCR International School 2016. Overall, the meeting was quite informative with full of opportunities to improve one’s presentation skills. More importantly, it offered a great opportunity to exchange not only science but also friendship with colleagues from all over the world. Thank you.

Yuichiro Fujieda Japan

I was very glad to participate this school, because I had many great memories with great tutors and young investigators. Everyone has high motivation, great researcher mind and dreams. We had a lot of discussion about science , also we knew each other with drinking “Sake” and “Wine”. We are working on same field that means we must keep in touch and we will see you soon. It was a big pleasure to meet everyone. And to the next students, this school is excellent, as you know. You should apply if you have a chance. I am going to give you the good words which is one of the “take home message” in this school. ” Just do it !”.

Hideaki Tsuji Japan

I am Hideaki Tsuji from Kyoto University graduate school of medicine. It was my pleasure to participate JCR international school 2016.
I presented my research “Association between thyroid function, anti-thyroid antibodies, and disease activity of rheumatoid arthritis.” Through making the slide for presentation, my tutor (Dr, Kishimoto) helped me a lot. The authority told me wonderful opinions such as the way to research, concept of “Low T3 syndrome”, and so on. Further, I could discuss about thyroid function or anti-thyroid antibodies with young researcher.
The object of the seminar was “discuss in English” and “make friends.” The chance to speak English was good opportunity for my training of English. Further, I could talk with the young researchers and a few professors in the seminar or the party.
I thank all of supporters and teachers.

Sayaka Takenaka Japan

It was my great pleasure to have the opportunity to participate in JCR International School 2016 in Karuizawa. Many rheumatologists who have a specialty in various rheumatic field gathered from all over the world, and each presentation was well prepared and the discussion was also impressive. Chairmen and tutors gave us many valuable comments and suggestions. This opportunity made me notice the area lacking in my English skill. Thank you very much for wonderful experience.

Siamak Moghadam-Kia USA

It was really nice and great experience attending the Japan College of Rheumatology International School Meeting in Karuizawa this July where I met many intelligent Japanese and international counterparts. I enjoyed the two-day event with several interesting and high-quality talks and discussions on various rheumatology topics. All the presenters were knowledgeable and insightful on their particular subjects. I found the conference well-constructed and benefited very much from this event. The conference gave me an exciting opportunity to expand my investigative capabilities from an international perspective via exchange of ideas, sharing scientific experience and expertise, and socializing with international colleagues.
In conclusion, I would like to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to people who have made this Japan College of Rheumatology conference possible and those who have shared their experiences during this fantastic event in Karuizawa, Japan. I hope to have the opportunity to continue my collaboration with my Japanese colleagues in the future.

Best regards

Toshihisa Maeda Japan

First of all, I would like to thank you very much for offering such a fantastic opportunity of attending the JCR International School 2016 in Karuizawa. It was one of the most exciting and informative meetings that I’ve attended so far. As you know, Karuizawa is very cool even in summer, but discussions made in the conference were extremely hot. While I was a presenter to present my research, I was asked from the audiences a lot of questions that were much meaningful to develop my research comprehensively. It’s also nice to listen to the talks other researchers had, and it leads to a widening of viewpoint and helps to make a chance for easily having close relationships with them. Also in the dinner party after the sessions, everyone, including senior colleague or foreign colleague, has talked to me friendly, so we could know well each other soon.
I would like to sincerely appreciate to JCR international committee and the participants again for such a wonderful opportunity. I hope this amazing international seminar will continue. I strongly feel that my colleagues should also join it in the future because I’m sure they will immerse themselves in their research and make special colleagues.

Yusuke Matsuo Japan

It was my great pleasure to participate in the JCR international school 2016 in Karuizawa. This seminar was so exciting in some respects. First, my research improved by fruitful opinions and advice from young investigators to famous committee members. In addition, participants were so passionate that they inspired me to contribute to advances in rheumatology. Furthermore, I enjoyed extraordinary interactions with overseas researchers, especially Dr. Andreas Ramming in University of Erlangen-Nuremberg I shared a room with. In conclusion, I would like to thank all participants and staffs for giving me this wonderful experiment.

Rachel Knevel USA / The Netherlands

For me, the JCR International School offered a magnificent experience. Young rheumatology scientists can become friends together and practice their scientific skills under the close and caring supervision of the tutors (amongst which several of the most prominent professors of Japans). A wide variety of topics are covered.
I have never before experienced such an optimal learning environment.

Hiroto Nakano Japan

It has been a great honor for me to be a part of the 4th JCR International School. I would like to thank the organizers for giving me this great chance. I am the one that was speaking about macrophage function in Behçet’s disease from Yokohama City University.
To be honest, I was very nervous about the 15 to 20 minutes Q&A session. This was the longest Q&A I’ve ever had and the questions were diverse in many cases.
But as we share our ideas and exchange views through the sessions, it turned out to be the most valuable time with the colleagues.
I think we have succeeded to share the passion as well as suffer struggling for science. This process seemed to be helpful to reduce the distance between each other. I truly enjoyed science and made good friends.
I’m so glad to be a rheumatologist and a member of JCR. I would like to participate to the meetings of JCR as an active member from now on.

Shoichi Fukui Japan

I thank the JCR international committee for giving me a great opportunity to attend JCR International School 2016. It was a pleasure for me to give a presentation and to discuss with our tutors and participants. I was impressed by the participants’ and tutors’ passionate attitude in research. This school had a potent influence to my research regarding both knowledge and passion. I could make many friends who intended to tackle many problems in autoimmune diseases and receive great advices from our tutors and the participants. These experiences were too precious to get again in any other situations. I strongly recommend many young researchers in rheumatology to participate in the JCR International School. I really hope that this wonderful meeting will continue for a long time.

Maiko Yoshikawa Japan

It was great opportunity for me to participate in JCR International School 2016. Among the way to Karuizawa, I was very uneasy because I’m not good at English. But, Karuizawa was very coolly and comfortable, participants were friendly, and tutors were kind, so, I was able to be relaxed. Actually, I enjoyed this exciting meeting though it was my first English presentation, and particularly questions and answers time was precious opportunity for me. I strongly thought that I need to study English more. In addition, I was happy that I could make many friends. They inspired me because they research with passion.
I would like to recommend the participation to this JCR International School for my colleagues next year. Thank you very much.

Yusuke Takeshima Japan

It was my great pleasure to have an opportunity to participate in the JCR International School 2016. It was a great opportunity for me to attend this meeting, because it was the first time to discuss with rheumatologists from overseas. The 15-minutes intense discussion time for each presentation made it possible to join the detailed scientific discussions of the both basic and clinical topics, even in unfamiliar topics. Also, we shared the room with other participants, therefore we had enough time to discuss about various things and became friends. I feel very thanks to the organizing committee members for their great support.

Chih-Wei Tseng Taiwan

I just want to say a big thank you to the organizing committee and all the participants of the JCR International School. I enjoyed very much this face to face contact and discussion. I got a lot of inspirations from the talk and all the hard work that the tutors and participants had done. And also I had to give a big big thank you to Ms. Kazumi Kosuge. Without her help with the use of Panasonic laptop, I might not be able to display all my slides. It really frightened me when I had this display toggle problem. I am grateful that Dr. Shingo Nakayamada made suggestions on the presentation slides.
The whole program was wonderful and the lecture about English presentation was really useful. Thanks to this wonderful opportunity, I made more friends who shared same hopes and goals for the future. And I hope we will see each other again soon and hear more progress in science from the effort that we have made. Above all, I hope Professor Yoshiya Tanaka likes our tea and pineapple cake.

Takahiro Kageyama Japan

It was a very valuable experience to join JCR International school 2016. So, I think there are four reasons that I strongly recommend to participate in it.
First, it was good training to improve the conversation and presentation skill in English because we had to interact only in English during the period. And, it was also useful to take a long time for presentation and discussion in English.
Second, there were a wide variety of presentations, such as clinical research, pathogenesis research, medical record system and so on. Furthermore, we also studied very useful lectures, so we could have a very meaningful time.
Third, all participants were very eager. So, to speak with participants raised my motivation. I am honored to join this opportunity.
Fourth, I was able to make new friends in JCR International school. And I want to continue to get in touch with them, so I am looking forward to seeing them in the near future.
Finally, I would like to express my deep appreciation for the JCR international School Committee giving me an opportunity to attend JCR International school 2016.

Mitsuhiro Akiyama Japan

I was very glad to participate in this JCR international school 2016 in Karuizawa and was greatly impressed by the kindly professors, tutors, and all participants. I would like to thank the organizing committee of JCR and the participants from all over the world. First, I could make a lot of friends around the world through this seminar. I hope to keep in touch with our friends after this meeting. Second, I could present our recent research and enjoy discussion in English.
Third, I could learn the oral presentation skill from the lecture by Mr. E. H. Jego.
Fourth, I could learn the latest topic from the lecture by the professor Eric F Morand and Tsutomu Takeuchi.
Finally, I could truly enjoy science throughout the seminar.
I never forget this precious experiences.
I strongly recommend the young researchers to participate in the next JCR international school if you have a chance!

Haibo Zhou China

I am Haibo Zhou, from Shanghai JiaoTong University School of Medicine, China. I participated the 4th JCR International School in Karuizawa this summer. The courses contained 8 parts including clinical and basic research in autoimmune diseases. The well-organized courses impressed me deeply. I learned how to give a successful presentation in the school and practiced my skills in the course. As the courses gave us half an hour to ask questions, we had enough time to discuss the details with the reporters. Both tutors and students were relax and free to ask any questions they care about. Therefore, we had the chance to learn more details of other researcher’s work. As a researcher in basic immunology, I also learned many clinical advancement in autoimmune disease and they gave me many new ideas in this field. I also made Japanese friends in the school. Taken together, I benefited a lot from the school. What’s more, if the committee could invite several famous basic researchers in this area, and both clinical and basic researchers could exchange their experience, it would be more exciting for students to get a deeper understanding of the autoimmune disease.

Eri Katsuyama Japan

It was a great opportunity to attend this JCR international school in Karuizawa. At first, I’d like to appreciate the big effort of all the staff in this meeting.
Before arriving, I was afraid to be packed in a room for 3 days all in English. However, just after arriving at the station, presently cool air in Karuizawa calm me down. In addition, I felt excited to attend the main meeting since the pre-lecture for skill up presentation was clear-cut with much humor. I was also impressed by many attractive presentations of other participants, while 15 minutes question time was a little hard. However, it was a valuable experience to work out each questions. In all this meeting, every tutors warmly encouraged and advised us. Especially, Prof. Morand who was a special guest from Australia also gave much advice to almost all members with playfulness and put enthusiasm into the discussion. Moreover, it was a great time to discuss with other researchers and talk with each other until late at night at the drinking party.
Even if you are busy with child care, please don’t hesitate to leave them with your family and enjoy science and make friends only for yourself in this meeting! I strongly hope this meeting will continue. Thank you very much.

Photographs

JCR International School Committee