President Message
In 1950, Sapporo Medical University became the first medical university to be opened in Japan under the new educational system established after WWII. In 2020, we celebrated our 70th anniversary (75 years since our founding).
Thus far, our School of Medicine has produced about 6,000 graduates, and our School of Health Sciences about 2,400. These people have gone on to play great active roles in fields such as medicine, public health administration, and education—not only across Hokkaido, but throughout Japan and around the world.
Upholding the three basic philosophies of “educating medical personnel with strong character,” “contributing to local medical services” and “promoting international activities and leading-edge research,” we engage in education, research, and medical care activities such the ones I will now describe.
Education: We hold our own community healthcare seminars, where students from both of our schools can jointly experience community healthcare. This prepares them to cooperate with other disciplines and contribute to community healthcare in the future. We are also introducing new educational systems such our Surgical Training Center and Clinical Simulation Center.
Research: A spinal cord injury treatment using the bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell-based therapeutic agent developed at our university received conditional and time-limited approval from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare in 2018, and became the world’s first regenerative spinal cord medicine covered by national health insurance. Besides this, research to develop a cancer vaccine is proceeding; cancer research is a field in which our university has traditionally been a national leader.
Medical Care: Our university hospital provides the highest level of advanced medical care in the fields of both internal medicine and surgery. Our surgical departments are producing good results with robot-assisted surgery systems and minimally invasive endoscopic surgery. At our Sports Medical Center, both our schools work together to provide medical care to top athletes, as well as cooperating with the Japanese Olympic Committee to provide medical support to Japan’s athletes for international competitions such as the Tokyo 2020 Games.
Since the pandemic began in 2020, our university hospital has admitted more than 700 COVID-19 patients with moderate to serious disease. At our Advanced Critical Care and Emergency Center, we promoted the use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation therapy for the most serious cases, and are obtaining some of the best results in the country. We also dispatch staff to public health centers and medical facilities, contributing greatly to COVID-19 medical care and public health administration in Hokkaido.
Our fundamental ethos is an “enterprising spirit and a free and lively atmosphere,” and “pursuit of the study and practice of medicine, and contributions to community healthcare.” In the future, we intend to broaden our global horizons through international exchange, strongly promote advanced fundamental and clinical research, and apply our results to contribute to community healthcare. Having celebrated our 70th anniversary, we look toward our 100th, and remain committed to promoting the highest level of education, medical care, and research.
Thus far, our School of Medicine has produced about 6,000 graduates, and our School of Health Sciences about 2,400. These people have gone on to play great active roles in fields such as medicine, public health administration, and education—not only across Hokkaido, but throughout Japan and around the world.
Upholding the three basic philosophies of “educating medical personnel with strong character,” “contributing to local medical services” and “promoting international activities and leading-edge research,” we engage in education, research, and medical care activities such the ones I will now describe.
Education: We hold our own community healthcare seminars, where students from both of our schools can jointly experience community healthcare. This prepares them to cooperate with other disciplines and contribute to community healthcare in the future. We are also introducing new educational systems such our Surgical Training Center and Clinical Simulation Center.
Research: A spinal cord injury treatment using the bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell-based therapeutic agent developed at our university received conditional and time-limited approval from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare in 2018, and became the world’s first regenerative spinal cord medicine covered by national health insurance. Besides this, research to develop a cancer vaccine is proceeding; cancer research is a field in which our university has traditionally been a national leader.
Medical Care: Our university hospital provides the highest level of advanced medical care in the fields of both internal medicine and surgery. Our surgical departments are producing good results with robot-assisted surgery systems and minimally invasive endoscopic surgery. At our Sports Medical Center, both our schools work together to provide medical care to top athletes, as well as cooperating with the Japanese Olympic Committee to provide medical support to Japan’s athletes for international competitions such as the Tokyo 2020 Games.
Since the pandemic began in 2020, our university hospital has admitted more than 700 COVID-19 patients with moderate to serious disease. At our Advanced Critical Care and Emergency Center, we promoted the use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation therapy for the most serious cases, and are obtaining some of the best results in the country. We also dispatch staff to public health centers and medical facilities, contributing greatly to COVID-19 medical care and public health administration in Hokkaido.
Our fundamental ethos is an “enterprising spirit and a free and lively atmosphere,” and “pursuit of the study and practice of medicine, and contributions to community healthcare.” In the future, we intend to broaden our global horizons through international exchange, strongly promote advanced fundamental and clinical research, and apply our results to contribute to community healthcare. Having celebrated our 70th anniversary, we look toward our 100th, and remain committed to promoting the highest level of education, medical care, and research.