Title: NSF/Tokyo Report: The Department of Bioengineering at the National Cardiovascular Center Research Institute Date: October 24, 1997 The National Science Foundation's offices in Tokyo and in Paris periodically report on developments abroad that are related to the Foundation's mission. These documents present facts for the use of NSF program managers and policy makers; they are not statements of NSF policy. Special Scientific Report #97-30 (September 12, 1997) THE DEPARTMENT OF BIOENGINEERING AT THE NATIONAL CARDIOVASCULAR CENTER RESEARCH INSTITUTE Dr. Julie Higashi, an M.D student in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, prepared the following report. Dr. Higashi was a participant in the 1997 Summer Institute sponsored by NSF/NIH/USDA and the Science and Technology Agency of Japan. Dr. Takehisa Matsuda of the Department of Bioengineering at the National Cardiovascular Center Research Institute (NCVC) in Osaka, Japan, hosted Dr. Higashi. Her husband, Robin Shaw, who was also a participant in the program, accompanied Dr. Higashi. Dr. Shaw worked in the Department of Cardiovascular Dynamics at the NCVC. Dr. Higashi can be reached via email at: jmh16@po.cwru.edu The Department of Bioengineering Dr. Matsuda is the chairman of this department that consists of about five full time researchers (one physicist, mechanical engineer, two chemists, and a female biologist), two part time researchers (3 1/2 days/week MDs vascular surgeons who do research for two years), and 1 graduate student (chemistry). While I was here, six summer time undergraduates were also working in the laboratory. Whereas the department encompasses work in the fields of biomechanics and rheology, its major focus concerns the development of cardiovascular implants and devices from both surface synthesis/modification and tissue engineering approach. The department is exceptionally well equipped (much better than my former lab in the US) with instruments (GPC, ESCA, AFM, DSC, cell culture facilities, excimer lasers, every kind of optical microscope with imaging and output devices, full computer and desktop publishing facilities are just some of the goodies). The physical closeness of the clinical ! hospital (the NCVC is the also the national cardiovascular treatment center) facilitates interaction and collaboration between scientists and physicians. My project focused on the examination of the endothelial cell adhesion and proliferation on two types of surfaces: 1) a micropatterned surface with five different photo-grafted regions of various surface properties and 2) three different three dimensional photo-grafted gradient surfaces. The ability to precisely photo-graft different functionalized films on one physical sample enables the simultaneous evaluation of the cellular adhesion as well as modifies devices in a regionally specific manner. In addition, the gradient surfaces allow a controlled examination of the effect of polymer chain length on the cellular response within one physical sample. The project was quite successful and should result in a first author manuscript submission for me. Members in the Department Each individual in the laboratory has an independent research project. I was closely associated with one of the senior level researchers who had already published extensively in the particular project area to which I was assigned. I had little experience with surface chemical synthesis and characterization, so it was very good to have one on one interaction in the beginning. We also developed quite a friendship while working together. In this department, there is little technical support, and the researchers maintain all the instruments. Luckily, the technical support operates on the same work schedule as everybody else here, so technical assistance is very accessible. Computer facilities were excellent, although I would not count on using Japanese versions of software unless you are already very familiar with the English versions. I found everyone to be extremely hard working and diligent, although there are a fair number of breaks for just shooting the breeze in a 12 ! hour day. Most people could speak a fair amount of English (everyone gets 8 years of English in school), but carrying around a Japanese English / English Japanese dictionary is a good idea. I found that it was much easier to communicate after just looking up a word or two. Knowing some basics in Japanese (I had taken one year many years before) was really great for breaking the ice. All efforts to communicate in Japanese were sincerely appreciated, and I learned some great words! My (our) Experience My host had spent considerable time in the U.S. (8 years, and many at the institution where I did my graduate work), and is a close colleague of one of my thesis committee members. I was lucky to have previously met him face to face twice. He visited our laboratory two summers ago at which time I asked him about the possibility of coming to spend time in his lab through this program, and then after being accepted by the program, I was able to hook up with him at a scientific conference where we discussed the project. He sent me both reprints and we communicated through several faxes back and forth in the intervening weeks. Our goal was to produce enough results for a letter to a journal. I believe this unusual situation was crucial to the success of the project - the prior interaction was very helpful to define a realistic project, and the prior interaction was also facilitated by my host's familiarity with my U.S. institution and advisors. Therefore, I strongly suggest! that you utilize already existing Japanese ties with your current institution. It really makes a difference! The work schedule was grueling-we typically left the apartment at 8:00 am (1 hr commute) and did not return until 10:00 or 11:00 pm on a regular basis. All members of the lab also typically worked a short day on Saturday (9:00-3:00). We were able to do a lot of sightseeing on the weekends, and since unlike most other NSFers, we were based in the Kansai area, it was really easy to go to Kyoto, Nara, and Kobe. We even made it to Hiroshima, which was only a 2-hr train ride by Shinkansen and were able to make the NSF/JISTEC trip to Lake Kawaguchiko and climb Mt Fuji! All in all, despite being really really tired, I had an incredible summer with my husband. We have been warmly received and our experiences here have far exceeded our original expectations. I return to the U.S. with a fresh perspective, and genuine feelings for some of my Japanese colleagues, and an optimistic attitude about future collaborations. It truly has been a life changing experience!