Patients died from chronic liver diseases, including liver cancer, are about 40,000 persons per a year in Japan. Liver transplantation remains the only effective treatment available to patients with end-stage liver diseases. Because of a serious shortage of donors for allogeneic liver transplantation, an alternative therapy is needed. Prevention of hepatocarcinogenesis and hepatic fibrosis is also necessary for patients with chronic liver disease, and the development of effective treatment for progressive liver diseases has been quite essential. Moreover, patients died from biliary and pancreatic cancer are more than 50,000 persons per a year in Japan. It is still difficult to detect such diseases at early stages and to establish the standard therapeutic strategy for them. It is urgently needed to address this issue as well as that of chronic liver diseases.
We believe that an essential role of departments in the Graduate school in Principles in Division of Biomedical Laboratory Sciences, TMDU, is to provide a basis for the innovative medical examination and to establish the treatment in next generation. To achieve our mission, both basic research lead by clinical concepts and development of novel laboratory and diagnostic strategy established upon basic research are required.
Our department is founded in 2020 under pandemic COVID-19 infection, which is standing by such principles. Our research projects focus on hepatobiliary diseases (Dr. Kakinuma), intestinal diseases (Dr. Matsuzawa), and cardiovascular diseases (Dr. Yamaguchi). The goal of our education is to promote students to become a well-developed scientist, and also leading experts in the field of pathophysiology and medical technology in such diseases.

Our principle of research is to achieve studies evoked from various clinical problems, and also directs to launch innovative diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Prof. Kakinuma focuses on the basic studies of novel disease models using human iPS cells to elucidate the pathophysiology. We also focus on analysis of cell-to-cell interaction regulating development and progression of hepatobiliary diseases. We focus other projects described as below, and promote them using molecular and cellular biologic approaches. We are collaborating with Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology (Medical and Dental Science Track, Graduate school, TMDU), a lot of departments in TMDU, and several departments in other universities in Japan.
Dr. Matsuzawa aims to elucidate the pathophysiology of inflammatory bowel diseases including Crohn's disease by focusing on the molecular pathogenesis of Crohn's disease responsible genes and other factors, and to develop therapeutic target molecules. Dr. Matsuzawa tries to elucidate the molecular mechanisms regulating intestinal immunity and cell death of intestinal cells through the interaction between immune cells and epithelial cells, using molecular and cell biological approaches, which are partly supported by AMED-PRIME project.
Dr. Yamaguchi is collaborating with Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, and is researching in the field of basic and clinical cardiology. We are currently researching on the development of novel absorbable biomaterials for ischemic diseases, and the role of extracellular vesicles in the myocardial remodeling. We also research on the low-/non-invasive health monitoring devices, including the screening of sleep apnea syndrome (SAS) with infrared camera and the detection of early-stage heart failure and arrhythmia using a single lead electrocardiogram. We are focusing on the cardiovascular research from broad perspectives, aiming for a clinical application in the future.

Research Projects:
(1) Development of novel disease models using human iPS cells to elucidate the pathophysiology
(2) Analysis of cell-to-cell interaction regulating development and progression of hepatobiliary, intestinal, and cardiovascular diseases
(3) Development of hepatobiliary and intestinal disease models using organoid culture systems
(4) Molecular mechanisms regulating homeostasis of stem/progenitor cells in gastrointestinal, hepatobiliary, and pancreatic tissues
(5) Research on molecular mechanisms regulating liver regeneration and hepatic fibrosis
(6) Research on molecular pathogenesis in inflammatory bowel disease focused on Paneth cells
(7) Analysis of the molecular mechanism regulating cell death in gastrointestinal cells
(8) Analysis on cell communication and signaling in the process of myocardial remodeling.
(9) Development of a novel treatment for cardiac/limb ischemia using biocompatible and bioabsorbable materials
(10) Development of low-/non-invasive health monitoring devices

Undergraduate students.
We are teaching the courses of Clinical and Physiological Laboratory, Clinical Pathophysiology, and Medical Genetics/Human Genome Science for undergraduate students of medical technologists in School of Medicine, TMDU. We also teach about basic techniques and scientific thinking necessary to progress the scientific research of undergraduate students in TMDU.

Graduate students
The goal of our education is to promote students to become a well-developed scientist, and also leading experts in the field of hepato-biliary or cardiac diseases and medical technology.

Primary goal for education of graduate students is to train highly educated and experienced clinical and technological scientists in the field of hepato-biliary, intestinal, and cardiovascular diseases. Our goal for education of graduate students is to produce clinical and technological scientists thinking from a wide perspective and to bring up leaders of scientists in next generation.

Undergraduate students.
# Clinical and Physiological Laboratory Science (I)
# Clinical Medicine (II)
# Advanced physiological function
# Analysis of Electrocardiogram
# Medical Genetics and Human Genome Science

Graduate students.
# Clinical and Diagnostic Laboratory Science

Our lectures and courses are collaboration with Department of Respiratory and Nervous System Science in undergraduate course, and with Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology and Department of Cardiovascular Medicine in graduate course. We also educate residents and medical technologists in Medical Hospital of TMDU.

Goals for education in scientific research
#1. Students should master the strategy of research for molecular and cellular biology to reveal the pathophysiology of Hepato-Biliary, Intestinal, and Cardiovascular diseases.
#2. Students should master the theory and techniques about physiological laboratory and diagnostic imaging in the field of Hepato-Biliary, Intestinal, and Cardiovascular diseases.
#3. Students should learn about the research strategy to develop a novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.

We pursue development of highly advanced technologies, including novel procedures, for sophisticated diagnosis and treatment of diseases of liver, biliary duct, and pancreas. We also operate a lot of multicenter clinical study collaborating with the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology in TMDU.
We participate in eight research projects for treatment and eradiation of hepatitis virus and one for cancer research and clinical evolution, funded by Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED). We published a lot of studies in peer-reviewed international journals and presented the recent works in a lot of international and domestic conferences as described below. For the treatment of patients with diseases of liver, biliary duct, and pancreas in Medical Hospital of TMDU, we collaborate with the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology in TMDU.
We contribute to the management of the activities and academic meetings held by the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease, the Japanese Society of Gastroenterology (Councilor), the Japanese Society of Hepatology　 (Councilor), and the Japanese Society for the Research of Hepatic cells.

Dr. Matsuzawa contributes to the academic meetings held by the Japanese Society of Immunology and the Japanese Society of Clinical Immunology, and cooperates in the management of these scientific meetings and journals.
Dr. Yamaguchi contributes to the academic meetings held by the American Heart Association and the Japanese Circulation Society, and cooperates in the management of these scientific meetings and journals.

For the treatment of patients with diseases of liver, biliary duct, and pancreas in Medical Hospital of TMDU, we collaborate with the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology in TMDU. We established the outpatient section specialized for chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, and HCC. We are operating several multicenter studies about hepatitis and liver cancer, including one named as “Ochyanomizu Liver Conference”. More than 2000 patients with viral hepatitis were enrolled in such studies, and they have clarified the clinical factors predicting accurately the therapeutic prognosis and risk for development of HCC. We are developing the screening programs for the early detection of HCC in patients with chronic hepatitis after eradication of viruses utilizing non-invasive elastography, novel serum biomarkers, and dynamic contrast-enhanced ultrasonography.

Dr. Yamaguchi studies on the low-/non-invasive health monitoring devices, including the screening of sleep apnea syndrome (SAS) with infrared camera and the detection of early-stage heart failure and arrhythmia using a single lead electrocardiogram.