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Our center was founded in 1999 as a medical research unit added to Shiga Medical Center for Adults, a central public hospital of Shiga prefecture in Japan. Since its establishment in 1970, the hospital has been specialized for treatment and care of common diseases in working and retired generations including cancer, diseases of central nervous system and cardiovascular system, and other lifestyle-related diseases. Sharing these purpose, our institute has a mission to perform the highest-level basic and applied medical researches for cancer and other diseases for all people.

There are three branches of research activity, (1) positron-emission tomography (PET) imaging and (2) molecular medicine.

Taking advantage of our ability to synthesize PET probes using in-house cyclotron and automated probe synthesizer, we have been conducting pre-clinical and clinical studies to expand the possibilities of PET imaging and to improve patients’ health. Running a PET scanner and a PET/CT scanner, we routinely provide the hospital with PET imaging and diagnosis service. Three researchers are working:

Chio Okuyama (M.D., Ph.D.)
Shinya Kagawa (pharmacologist)

Ever increasingly accumulating genome information is revolutionizing medicine. Deep understanding of causes of diseases at the level of gene is changing the way of diagnosis and choice of treatments. Our institute provides the hospital with genetic testing service to promote clinical research activities. Besides such collaboration with medical staff, two researchers with background of molecular biology are practicing basic medical research on cancer and psychiatric diseases using animal and cell culture models:

Kenji Tanigaki (M.D., Ph.D.)