about JSIT

Greeting from Executive President

Takahiko Yoshida, MD.,PhD.
Asahikawa Medical University

Takahiko Yoshida

I assumed the presidency of the Japanese Society of Immunotoxicology on October 1, 2013 through the assent of the general assembly at the annual meeting. The Japanese Society of Immunotoxicology (JSIT) is in its 20th anniversary year since it was established from a former study group in 1994. Although it will be difficult to match the progress made under the leadership of Dr. Hiroshi Nakura, Dr. Motoyasu Osawa and Jun-ichi Sawada, I will put all of my effort into the continuous development of the JSIT.

The JSIT is a scientific group consisted of researchers taking an interest in the specialized area of immunotoxicology. The factors, mainly chemicals, influencing the immune system can be taken intentionally or assimilated involuntarily from the living environment. An example of the former is pharmaceutical products, and examples of the latter are things such as food contamination, air pollution and water contamination. Therefore, there is a wide diversity of members in JSIT; drug development, occupational and environmental health; and academia, businesses and public administration. Furthermore, the targets of the research have increased in recent times, because various health foods, supplements and cosmetics have become more popular, and genetically-modified products and nanomaterials have been introduced to our daily life. So the JSIT is expected to work on the various needs of the community to achieve security and peace of mind in society.

Although immunotoxicological research techniques had been developed based on the international harmonized standard, from my perspective recent rapid progression of immunology and molecular biology and those research techniques have brought them forward into a new phase. I have been studying immunotoxicology from the early 1980s. The immunomodulations which I observed, whose mechanisms were unknown at that time, have been ascertained and reported on in JSIT meetings in recent years. It has made me recognize that the proverb “History repeats itself” is reality, even in scientific research and that “Time flies away without delay”. I hope the members of JSIT, especially the younger researchers, will fulfill the people’s expectations and complete fruitful research through various techniques and methods.

Greeting from previous president
2006~2013