Following are the recommendations and advice made by the AC in March 2014. However, certain comments have been revised by subsequent events and in order to complete the final report an addendum is provided recording the outcomes of correspondence and two internet conferences between AC members after June 2014.
STAP Issue
The AC considers that the CDB Director has handled the matter appropriately by instigating an investigation by RIKEN. The AC also appreciates that a corrigendum has been submitted to Nature and that a detailed protocol will be made available. These actions will go some way to mitigate the potential for reputational damage to CDB and to individual authors. The AC wishes to underscore that it is essential to avoid any impression that CDB does not take extremely seriously the proper presentation of scientific data. The AC has the following recommendations:
- The CDB Director to issue a public statement, coordinated with RIKEN, acknowledging the professional failure in elements of data representation and oversight in the original papers.
- The co-authors of the paper, in particular the senior CDB author, to be frank about these failures in all external and internal communications and to avoid expressions such as “innocent mistake”.
- Seminars on research integrity and data presentation to be conducted in CDB with compulsory attendance by all research staff and students. Expert speakers on research ethics should be available within RIKEN and the University system. In future, such seminars should be held at least once a year for all new staff and students.
At the end of the AC meeting, members learned of a proposal that CDB arranges an open symposium on reprogramming methodologies in the near future. This is an excellent suggestion.
Group Director Recruitment
As Drs Aizawa and Nishikawa have departed and a new Director has not been appointed, the AC considers that is now important to strengthen the broad scientific leadership and visibility of CDB by recruiting a further Group Director. Refreshing the senior leadership will also help to avert any impression that CDB may be becoming insular. The AC accordingly recommends that CDB undertakes a global search for a new Group Director in 2014 led by the Director, Masatoshi Takeichi.
Scientific quality must be the over-riding consideration and, as emphasized at previous AC meetings, it would bring many benefits if a non-Japanese of high international standing and with strong commitment to mentoring young scientists could be recruited. The AC considers that research area need not be defined too rigidly, although an individual working on mammalian development would seem most appropriate. In addition to placing an advertisement in Nature and other journals, the AC judges it would be productive to circulate the recruitment information to heads of leading research institutes. In addition, a CDB search committee should be convened to draw up a short-list of candidates and approach these individuals directly. AC members are willing to give this matter some consideration and suggest names.
The AC notes that Dr Niwa would be a strong candidate if he should choose to apply. He is a key investigator who is internationally prominent and plays an increasing responsible role in mentoring junior PIs within CDB. However, since he has another 5 years to his term as a Project Leader, it may be reasonable to recognise his excellent contribution in some other form, such as increased resources, than appointment to a GD position at this moment. Alternatively, in the special circumstances of this transition period an additional GD position could be created to accommodate the appointment of both Dr Niwa and an external individual.
Regenerative Medicine and Translational Research
The mission of CDB extends from fundamental discovery research through to pioneering clinical applications. The work of Dr Takahashi is exemplary in demonstrating a path from basic science to regenerative medicine. However, her team is currently a unique case in CDB. The AC recommends that it would be strategic for CDB to identify and establish additional project(s) in the Regenerative Medicine Development Program.
It is of paramount importance for CDB to sustain excellence in basic science, which is fundamental to innovation and discovery. Nonetheless, attention should also be paid to building genuine connectivity with translational researchers. Achieving this is not straightforward and institutions worldwide are struggling with the challenge. CDB is very well positioned, however, due to the combination of world-leading basic science, secure funding, and immediate proximity to clinical research facilities.
In the context of developing a broader translational programme, the AC recognises the merit of an appointment in Tissue Engineering. We look forward to learning about Dr Tsuji’s research and his integration into CDB at future AC meetings. In particular, we hope that he will grasp the opportunity to interact productively with developmental and stem cell biologists and thereby maximise the potential outcome of tissue engineering science.
The AC recommends that CDB should seek to motivate and promote translational science of the highest quality by bridging with excellent basic science. Groups in CDB should not all be expected to have a translational aim, but opportunities should be fostered for collaboration and engagement with pre-clinical and clinical research. Possible mechanisms might include: internal funding for pump-priming translational projects; research exchanges with leading international centres, for example the Langer laboratory at MIT and internships for clinically qualified researchers. The last mechanism may be facilitated by the RIKEN JRA scheme which highlights “making special efforts to foster the development of basic research in medical fields, and recent graduates of medical and dental universities who have acquired their medical or dental licenses are welcome to apply”.
PhD Programme
The AC was concerned that the number of PhD students has continued to decline although this can in part be explained by the departure of leading investigators Dr Aizawa and Dr Nishikawa. The AC also heard that there is a reduced interest in PhD studies among young Japanese at the present time. As highlighted in the previous AC report, training the next generation of researchers should be a key element in the mission of an international research institute such as CDB. Furthermore, graduate students are invaluable for the creativity and vitality of research groups. The opportunity exists to attract high quality students from outside Japan and the AC was interested to hear of the RIKEN International Program Associate scheme. It was also constructive to hear that the CDB Director is committed to increasing the number of the PhD students and that currently 20% of CDB graduate students are non-Japanese. The AC recommends that CDB takes full advantage of the RIKEN JRA and IPA schemes to attract high calibre PhD students and in addition increase use of internal funding to support PhD students. Preparedness to train PhD students should also be taken into account in future recruitment of Team Leaders and Group Directors.
The AC considers that CDB is ideally placed to organise a world-leading PhD programme in Developmental Biology and Tissue Regeneration that could attract students not only from Asia but worldwide. There are excellent models of International PhD Programmes available at EMBL, Wellcome Trust and several other organisations. Since a significant degree of planning and coordination is required, the AC recommends that CDB consider appointing a Graduate Studies Officer to take responsibility for administration, recruitment, course organisation, and pastoral provision for an international PhD Programme. This role might be combined with serving as liason officer with overseas institutions.
Team Leader Turnover
AC members are very pleased to see that CDB team leaders are succeeding in obtaining positions in Japanese Universities. The AC appreciates that establishing this new model has been challenging both for CDB leadership and for some individuals. However, a key benefit of turnover is that openings have been created to give opportunities to promising new investigators and refresh CDB. In the longer term, the Japanese Universities will appreciate the benefit to be gained from recruiting high quality research group leaders developed in CDB. Consequently it would become easier for CDB Team Leaders to make this transition, and the relationship between CDB and the Universities may be increasingly harmonious.
Post-doctoral Community
AC members were impressed with the quality of posters presented by students and post-docs. The AC would like to stress that a vibrant post-doc community is the engine room of a research institute. The AC recommends that CDB seeks to provide the best possible environment for post-docs. Measures should include offering mentorship from GDs and stimulating formation of an autonomous post-doc association that can arrange scientific and social events, and could also be given some responsibility for inviting seminar speakers and organising the annual retreat. The post-docs should also be encouraged to invite speakers to discuss career opportunities.
Sequencing Informatics
Dr Kuraku is to be congratulated for effectively streamlining provision of genomics support with associated bioinformatics processing. How, and at what level, to provide core informatics support for deep sequencing is a general challenge, but is critical to ensure quality control of data analysis in publications and provide standardisation of platforms for effective data exchange and collaboration. While some larger groups may employ dedicated bioinformaticians, this will not be reasonable for all groups. The AC recommends a review of sequencing informatics requirements and provision in CDB.
Presentation Skills
Oral presentations by GDs and Team Leaders and responses to questions varied in clarity and were in general below the standard expected in a North American or European institute. Almost all PIs have reasonable spoken English, but in some cases weaknesses are apparent in organisation of content, timing, style and response during discusssion. This is a significant issue because invitations to speak at meetings depend on the ability to deliver and defend a well-articulated presentation. The AC recommends that CDB arrange expert coaching in presentation skills for all PIs and post-docs.
Supporting Laboratories
The supporting laboratories are providing essential core facilities efficiently and to a high standard. They are a great asset to CDB. The AC appreciates that for some of the Unit Leaders the opportunity to spend some time on their own research can be incentivising. It is important, however, that such research proposals are reviewed robustly and do not conflict with core service provision.
GD Report Format
Several external reviewers commented on the difficulty of evaluating future research plans from the reports of some GDs. The AC agrees with this and furthermore did not find GD oral presentations generally illuminating about future plans. The AC recommends that future GD review reports follow a standard format. This could comprise: Background, 0.5 page; Progress during review period, 2.5 pages; Future plans, 3 pages; followed by publications, major invited talks, funding details, past and current lab members, and information on responsibilities in CDB.
AC membership turnover
All AC members feel closely connected to CDB and honoured to serve on the AC. Nonetheless, the AC recommends that membership should be refreshed for the next meeting.
Final Remark
The scientific content of the Group Director presentations was of very high quality but the AC sensed rather less excitement and enthusiasm than at previous meetings. Specific circumstances at the present time may be contributory, but the AC considers the apparent air of fatigue as an indication that the collegiate leadership team should be rebalanced and reinvigorated through new GD appointment(s).
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