September 20-21, 2007

RIKEN Workshop Focuses on Life Sciences

In the 10 years since the RIKEN BNL Research Center (RBRC) was formed, most of the Laboratory's interactions with Japan's Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (RIKEN) have centered on physics. However, a Brookhaven-RIKEN workshop held at the Lab on September 20-21 focused on another part of the scientific spectrum – life sciences.

Participants in the RIKEN Workshop during a tour of the NSLS.

"There's a larger biological infrastructure in Japan than physics, and RIKEN is one of the major health and biological institutes there," said Fritz Henn, Associate Laboratory Director for Life Sciences. "The idea of this workshop was for them to interface with the key areas we focus on at Brookhaven."

Those areas of study include: structural biology, positron emission tomography (PET), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and biological systems. During the two-day workshop, 16 matching talks "gave both groups a good idea of what the other was up to," Henn said. For example, a presentation by Brookhaven chemist Joanna Fowler about PET tracer development was followed by a RIKEN scientist's latest findings in the field.

The RIKEN group, led by Executive Director Yoshiharu Doi, also toured the Laboratory, making stops at RHIC, the Center for Functional Nanomaterials, the National Synchrotron Light Source, and the Center for Translational Neuroimaging.

The RBRC is currently dedicated to the study of strong interactions, including spin physics, lattice QCD, and RHIC physics through the nurturing of a new generation of young physicists. Henn said he'd like to see a similar kind of RBRC involvement with life sciences.

Brookhaven's life sciences group has already been invited back to RIKEN for a similar type of workshop on the other side of the world.

RELATED LINKS: Tour Photos

ARTICLE BY: Kendra Snyder