Kunihiko Yoshikawa, Honorary Professor of Dermatology,
Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine
(1st Secretary General & 3rd Chief Director of the Society)
On August 3 and 4, 1978, an Academic Meeting of the Photomedicine and Photobiology was held at Kowan Kaikan in Nagoya City. The organizer was Prof. Nobuyuki Mizuno of the Department of Dermatology, Nagoya City University School of Medicine and Prof. Pill-Soon Song from the Department of Chemistry, Texas Tech University, who then serving as the Chief Editor of Photochemistry and Photobiology, was invited as a guest lecturer. In addition to a Presidential lecture by Prof. Mizuno, two other educational lectures and 50 Presentations by the participants were given: it was a very successful conference. At first it was planned as the 10th anniversary activity for Dr. Mizuno's Professorship; however, he was so encouraged by its success that he wanted to continue holding this meeting annually; consequently, it became the first conference of the Photomedicine and Photobiology Research Society, which was the predecessor of the present Society. Until 1984 I served as a secretory general and editorial manager of the bulletin "Photomedicine and Photobiology".
Founder & 1st Chief Director of this Society
Prof. Nobuyuki Mizuno
(Honorary Professor, Nagoya City University)
1924 - 1992
In Prof. Mizuno's commemorative lecture to the 1st conference, he stated: "When we examine the problems of photomedicine and photobiology, even if the individual phenomenon observed in the various scientific fields appear to be different from one another, many apparent difference can be understood and explained by common terms and concepts when focusing on the underlying generation mechanisms. Recent developments in molecular biology, photochemistry and photobiology made such interpretation possible. Therefore, I believe if researchers from many different fields gather and mutually criticize or study problems in other disciplines but from their own point of view, this will naturally reject self-justified concepts, and lead to the discovery of universal principles; then research in other fields could herald the beginning of new research directions in others." His acknowledgment of the common ground among diverse disciplines shows he strongly understood the need for a cross-sectional academic organization with "light" as a common key word. Thus a research society was founded and started its activities with the following professors as its original organizers.
Chairman of the Organizing committee:
Nobuyuki Mizuno (Department of Dermatology, Nagoya City University Medical School)
Organizers:
Kazuo Baba (Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Nihon University School of Medicine), Masakazu Kikuchi (Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, Juntendo University School of Medicine), Genyo Mitarai (Research Institute of Environmental Medicine Nagoya University), Katsuyoshi Mizuno (Department of Ophthalmology, Tohoku University School of Medicine), Ryohei Ogura (Department of Medical Biochemistry, Kurume University School of Medicine), Muneo Okido (Department of Dermatology, Tokai University School of Medicine), Kenshi Suzuki (Department of Molecular Biology, Tokai University School of Medicine), Hiraku Takebe (Radiation Biology Center, Kyoto University), Susumu Takeda (Department of Pathology, Mie University School of Medicine) (Titles are omitted)
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Logo of the Research Society at its foundation Designed by Kunihiko Yoshikawa |
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Bulletin: Cover of the 1st volume The Society name written in kanji shown at the lower part does not include the description "Japanese". |
An outline of the early Academic Conferences from the 2nd conference onwards is as follows:
| 2nd Conference: Tokyo | Chairperson: Kenshi Suzuki (Department of Molecular Biology, Tokai University School of Medicine) Invited lecturer: John H Epstein (Department of Dermatology, UCSF) Photocarcinogenesis Educational lectures: 2 subjects General Presentation: 25 subjects |
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| 3rd Conference: Tokyo | Chairperson: Kazuo Baba (Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Nihon University School of Medicine) Educational lectures: 2 subjects General Presentation: 36 subjects |
| 4th Conference: Sendai | Chairperson: Katsuyoshi Mizuno (Department of Ophthalmology, Tohoku University School of Medicine) Educational lectures: 2 subjects General Presentation: 20 subjects |
| 5th Conference: Kurume | |
| Chairperson: Ryohei Ogura (Department of Medical Biochemistry, Kurume University School of Medicine) Educational lectures: 2 subjects General Presentation: 23 subjects |
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| 6th Conference: Tsu | Chairperson: Susumu Takeda (Department of Pathology, Mie University School of Medicine) Special lecture： James D Regan (Oak Ridge Natl Lab, USA) Ultraviolet induced DNA damage and hereditary skin cancer Lecture A: 4 subjects Lecture B: 28 subjects |
| 7th Conference: Kobe | Chairperson: Yoshisada Fujiwara (Department of Radiation Biophysics, Kobe University School of Medicine) Special lecture: Mark A MacInnes (Los Alamos Natl Lab, USA) Inter species gene transfer for analysis of functions and cloning of DNA repair genes Educational lecture: 1 subject Symposium: 1 General Presentation: 29 subjects |
Brief summary of the subsequent history is as follows: in 1984 aiming at further development, the name of the organization in Japanese changed from "Research Society" to "Japanese Society". From Vol.8, 1986, our bulletin has been published in English for international distribution. In 1990, Prof. Mizuno retired from his professorship and resigned the post of Chief Director of the Society that he had so enthusiastically devoted himself to develop. The following is a list of his successors and their term of service as Chief Director.
| Successive Chief Directors | Service Term |
|---|---|
| Nobuyuki Mizuno (Prof. of Dermatology, Nagoya City University Medical School) | 1978 - 1990 |
| Muneo Okido (Prof. of Dermatology, Tokai University School of Medicine) | 1991 - 1993 |
| Kunihiko Yoshikawa (Prof. of Dermatology, Osaka University, Faculty of Medicine) | 1994 - 1997 |
| Masamitsu Ichihashi (Prof. of Dermatology, Kobe University School of Medicine) | 1998 - 2002 |
| Itsuro Matsuo (Prof. of Dermatology, Branch Hospital, Teikyo University School of Medicine) | 2003 - 2004 |
| Takeshi Horio (Prof. of Dermatology, Kansai Medical University) | 2005 - 2006 |
| Katsumi Hanada (Prof. of Dermatology, Hirosaki University School of Medicine) | 2007 - 2009 |
| Fujio Otsuka (Prof. of Dermatology, University of Tsukuba) | 2010 - 2013 |
| Chikako Nishigori (Prof. of Dermatology, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine) | 2013 - 2018 |
| Akimichi Morita (Prof. of Dermatology, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences) | 2018 - 2022 |
| Tadamichi Shimizu (Prof. of Dermatology, University of Toyama) | 2022 - |
In 1991 the 6th International Congress of Photobiology was held in Kyoto. Our Society, supported the congress as a member organization of the Photobiology Association of Japan and I representing our Society, served as the chairman of financial affairs. The Photobiology Association of Japan is a liaison organization that encourages cross-sectional integration of researchers studying photobiology-related fields in various academic disciplines. Prof. Mizuno was actively involved in the Association and although he was keen to see the organization grow into an academic society, unfortunately he was not able to see his vision fulfilled.
Prof. Nobuyuki Mizuno, who was the founder and main promoter of the Society, passed away in 1992; however, his dreams and aims have been taken over by the next generation through the following annual academic conferences. In July 2008 the 30th Japanese Society for Photomedicine and Photobiology conference was successfully held in Matsue City with many participants.
(July 2008: excerpt from speech to commemorate receiving the society Award)
Prof. Nobuyuki Mizuno in his office
