Welcome to the Japan Society for Biomedical Gerontology
The Japan Society for Biomedical Gerontology (JSBMG) was born from the Japan Aging Research Group, a predecessor organization established in 1977. The group expanded and established JSBMG in 1981.
Aims of JSBMG:
1) Promotion of basic aging research based on scientific discussions
2) Contribution to achieving a healthy society, one with increasing healthy longevity
The official journal of JSBMG is Biomedical Gerontology, which is published three times a year. The Society hosts annual scientific meetings for members and organizes symposia covering a broad area of research relevant to aging research. The Society also participates in a biannual joint meeting composed of six gerontology-related societies, the Japan Geriatrics Society, the Japan Socio-Gerontological Society, the Japanese Society of Gerontology, the Japanese Psychogeriatric Society, the Japan Society of Care Management, and the Japan Academy of Gerontological Nursing.
JSBMG uses e-mail to deliver the most up-to-date information to you. If you are a JSBMG member and don’t currently receive e-mail from us, please send your e-mail address to the Secretariat (secretariat@jsbmg.jp). Please contact the Secretariat if you have any inquiries about membership or other issues regarding JSBMG.
Greetings From the President
Akihito Ishigami President
This is Akihito Ishigami. I will serve as the 10th president of the Japan Society for Biomedical Gerontology (JSBMG) from April 2021 to March 2023.
JSBMG is an academic organization that brings together researchers and students from many research institutions, universities, companies, etc., seeking to elucidate the aging mechanism of living organisms at the gene, cell, tissue, and individual organism levels. The research subjects are not limited to humans. They also include yeasts, nematodes, and fruit flies. The scientific evidence obtained from these species is ultimately extrapolated to humans, and active discussions are underway with the aim of extending people’s healthy life span.
In recent years, aging research has been actively conducted all over the world. As a result, symposiums and lectures featuring the theme of aging are organized at many academic conferences. People use the word “aging” in Japanese frequently. However, you would be surprised to learn that, as far as I know, the JSBMG is the only organization that uses the term “aging” in Japanese in its name. I am not sure why this is the case, but I suspect that this is because the word has a negative connotation. “Aging” means that our physical and mental conditions decline as we grow older. Thus, a certain universal mechanism that transcends any one species must inhere in this phenomenon. The JSBMG aims to clarify the mechanism of aging from various perspectives by examining a wide range of species as described above. We constantly discuss the issue of aging, which is often perceived negatively, through academic conferences and journals.
The JSBMG was established in February 1977 as the Japan Aging Research Group. Four years later, in May 1981, the organization changed its name to the Japan Society for Biomedical Gerontology. It has been 40 years since the JSBMG became an academic society. I joined the JSBMG in April 1986, when I was a graduate student seeking to study aging. Since then, I have witnessed the development and transformation of the JSBMG, which has been built by many of our forerunners over the past 35 years. It is particularly significant that the JSBMG joined the Japan Geriatrics Society (JGS), consisting of seven academic societies related to aging, geriatric diseases, and nursing, early on. JGS holds a general conference every other year, with the seven academic societies working together to allow for active discussions not only on basic aging research but also on aging in other fields. I have learned a lot from the discussions held at these conferences, such as the basic concepts and research methods of aging. I have continued my research on aging for 35 years. As president, I recognize that my greatest responsibility is to pass on what I have learned from my predecessors to younger researchers during my two-year term. I will do my best to fulfill this heavy responsibility and to help the JSBMG grow even further. I look forward to your support and cooperation.
Finally, I look forward to having many discussions with you on aging at the JSBMG.
April 2020
Akihito Ishigami
President
The Japan Society for Biomedical Gerontology