The JSPS Core-to-Core Program is designed to cultivate research of mathematical oncology in Japan: namely,
- (i) to establish systems of its education and research in alliance with a continuous international network and collaboration with foreign institutions, and
- (ii) to foster leaders of mathematical oncology.
In recent years, the need and effectiveness of a mathematical approach has been recognized, especially in cancer research. So far, it has been difficult for quantitative data analysis to tackle bio-scientific problems. However, the use of a mathematical approach through modeling and statistical data analysis is functionally changing various fields of medicine, such as the selection of optimal treatment strategies for analysis of biological dynamics.
Cancer research by mathematical methods has already been established as a promising and hot integral field in Europe and the United States. On the other hand, Japan is lagging behind in terms of application, organizational structure, and human resource development. Therefore, we should establish an education and research system, in order to achieve the following aim in cooperation with overseas organizations: cancer research through a mathematical approach, which will be at an international level and regarded as a promising integral field.
Our research will contain:
- (i) analysis of the process of progressing cancer cells and acquiring drug resistance, which is a major theme of modern cancer research,
- (ii) complementary reinforcement of mathematical scientific theory and cell biology experiments to establish the foundation of mathematical oncology, and
- (iii) applied development research such as clinical treatment and drug discovery strategies on the basis of the above research.
