MessageMessage from
Yuishin Izumi, MD, PhD
Professor and Chairman
Department of Neurology,
Tokushima University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
I am pleased to announce that I have been appointed as Professor of Department of Neurology at Tokushima University, succeeding Dr. Ryuji Kaji. I am sobered by the heavy responsibility and I will do my utmost to further develop the department that Dr. Kaji established.
After graduating from the University of Tokushima Faculty of Medicine in March 1995, I entered Third Department of Internal Medicine (currently Department of Clinical Neuroscience and Therapeutics), which was led by Dr. Shigenobu Nakamura, Professor Emeritus of Hiroshima University, on the recommendation of Dr. Shozo Yamamoto, Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry at the University of Tokushima. From January to March 1996, I trained as a neurosurgeon at Suiseikai Kajikawa Hospital (Director: Hiroshi Kajikawa) in Hiroshima City, where I learned the basics of stroke treatment. From April of the same year to July of 1998, I worked at Sumitomo Hospital in Osaka under the guidance of Dr. Masakuni Kameyama, and Dr. Fukashi Udaka, Director of Department of Neurology, which determined the direction I would take as a doctor. It was also a great asset for me to be able to get to know many doctors at Sumitomo Hospital. After my training at Sumitomo Hospital, I went to graduate school to do research on genetic studies of neurodegenerative diseases under the guidance of Dr. Hideshi Kawakami, Professor of Hiroshima University Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine and received my degree in March 2001. In April of the same year, on the recommendation of Dr. Nakamura, I joined Department of Clinical Neuroscience, where Dr. Ryuji Kaji had just been appointed (at that time it was called Department of Hearing Loss). Soon after my arrival, Dr. Kaji asked me to help him with ALS research, and I started working on ALS treatment and research, which I continue to do to this day. Since then, I have been engaged in research, treatment, and education at Tokushima University, although my position has changed. I have learned a lot from the faculty members and patients at Tokushima University over the past 19 years.
As I take over the department that Dr. Kaji opened, I have decided to set the basic policy of the department as "erstens Bett!" The words were given to me by my teacher, the late Dr. Masakuni Kameyama, and they have been the most important influence on me. Dr. Kameyama expressed the true meaning of this phrase as "Put the patient first, no matter what." This is also a way of putting into practice Osler's three principles, which were Dr. Kaji's guiding principle. By implementing "erstens Bett!", we will ensure bedside to bench, bench to bedside. As a result, we are determined to send out world-class research from here in Tokushima and give it back to people suffering from diseases.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of Dr. Kaji's appointment in November 2000. Although the number of medical staff and members of the department has increased, we are still a young department, and in this 20th year, we will work on a new training policy under a new organization, convey the appeal of neurology to young doctors, and expand our activities with a view to the next generation.
We still have a lot to learn, and we would appreciate your guidance and encouragement.
February 1, 2020
-----
We are recognized as a center of excellence in the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), movement disorders such as dystonia and Parkinson’s disease, stroke, and dementia including Alzheimer’s disease. We welcome patients from all over the world.
We have also welcomed a lot of medical personnel for neurology training (e.g. electrophysiological studies).
If you are interested, please feel free to contact us.
| Please feel free to contact us. | kfujita@tokushima-u.ac.jp (Dr. Koji Fujita) |