Kanazawa University (KU)
金沢大学

Japan

Established nearly seven decades ago but with roots stretching back over a century and a half, Kanazawa University has a proud tradition of contributing to the development of Japan and the world. Only two and a half hours by bullet train from Tokyo, the university has become the leading university on the Sea of Japan coast, with more than 10,000 students enrolled in various undergraduate and postgraduate courses.

Embracing globalization

Kanazawa University is strongly committed to implementing global standards for education, training and research. Realizing the importance of establishing networks and collaboration in these areas, the university has recently developed new goals to help it to address the challenges of the future. In particular, it will further its contribution to society by promoting international and interdisciplinary education and research through establishing the Kanazawa University Model for Globalization, which will consolidate Kanazawa University’s place at the centre of higher education and research in East Asia.

Strengthening priority research

Kanazawa University is cultivating the full spectrum of research — from fundamental investigations to technology-related studies. In particular, Kanazawa University’s five priority research areas are nanoscience research using innovative atomic force microscopy techniques; nutrition-related diseases; cancer progression; cultural-resource studies; and innovative material sciences based on supermolecules.

Promoting interdisciplinarity

Kanazawa University is adopting a collaborative and network-based approach to foster outstanding researchers who work internationally and across disciplines to engage in new challenges that require breaking conventional molds. To this end, the university established the Institute for Frontier Science Initiative (InFiniti) in 2015 to further promote interdisciplinary research and foster global scientists. The 16 research units in the initiative are primarily led by young principal investigators in conjunction with unit leaders.

Encouraging brain circulation

With its goal of being “a research university dedicated to education, while opening its doors to local and global society,” Kanazawa University seeks to be a hub for top-class education and research in East Asia. It aims to provide a world-class international research environment that attracts excellent young researchers who are inspired to tackle new challenges.

1 April 2016 - 31 March 2017

Region: Global
Subject/journal group: All

The table to the right includes counts of all research outputs for Kanazawa University (KU) published between 1 April 2016 - 31 March 2017 which are tracked by the Nature Index.

Hover over the donut graph to view the WFC output for each subject. Below, the same research outputs are grouped by subject. Click on the subject to drill-down into a list of articles organized by journal, and then by title.

Note: Articles may be assigned to more than one subject area.

AC	FC	WFC
57	22.71	22.70

Outputs by subject (WFC)

Subject	AC	FC	WFC
Life Sciences	29	8.70	8.70
Chemistry	16	9.76	9.76
Physical Sciences	14	4.60	4.59
Earth & Environmental Sciences	2	0.13	0.13

Highlight of the month

Why workouts may not always work out

A protein produced by the liver may limit the benefits of regular exercise.

Medical guidelines recommend at least 2.5 hours of moderate exercise, such as cycling, each week to stay healthy. However, studies show that not everyone’s aerobic fitness improves from toiling on the treadmill. A team led by researchers from Kanazawa University have found that selenoprotein P (SeP), a protein found in the liver, could be responsible.

The researchers fattened up mice that lacked either SeP or the muscle-based SeP receptor (LRP1) and wild-type mice, and put them on a treadmill for 30 minutes per day. After four weeks the SeP- and LRP1-deficient mice could run further and for longer than the control group.

The team also measured SeP in the blood of 31 healthy, post-menopausal women before an eight-week exercise program. Women with lower levels of SeP made greater gains in their aerobic capacity.

These results suggest that blocking SeP from reaching the muscles may improve the effectiveness of exercise in treating obesity and diabetes.

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