2025meeting

Closing Address from the President

The 15th AMMRA & AMPC Meeting was held at the Shimadzu Tokyo Innovation Plaza in King Skyfront, Kawasaki, adjacent to Tokyo International (Haneda) Airport, with the banquet venue at the Tokyu REI Hotel. The meeting was co-hosted by the RIKEN BioResource Research Center and the Tsukuba Digital-Bio International Center, with the generous support of 16 domestic sponsors. Over two days, September 18–19, we welcomed 75 participants, including 23 colleagues from overseas.

Throughout the meeting, we enjoyed active and stimulating exchanges of information and ideas, which opened up promising directions for future research collaborations. We are deeply grateful to every participant and to all those who contributed to the organization of this event.

The program featured plenary lectures from France, Japan, and China. On the first day, presentations highlighted the progress and challenges of the International Mouse Phenotyping Consortium in building mouse resources and big data to decipher mammalian gene functions, as well as cutting-edge research on the non-coding genome and proposals for new mouse model development. These were followed by reports from AMMRA members and collaborating institutions on their latest research topics.

The second day focused on emerging AI technologies for decoding complex behaviors, complemented by a plenary lecture from Shanghai delivered via video. Presentations from AMMRA members and partners in China, Taiwan, Korea, and Australia highlighted new trends in biomedical research, including innovative disease models, model cell systems, and in silico approaches for drug discovery. Institutions across regions are now steering toward integrated strategies that combine in vivo studies with alternatives to advance the 3Rs, while the use of patient-derived iPS cells and organoid technologies is opening new opportunities to complement animal testing and accelerate translational research.

The welcome banquet on the first evening provided a valuable opportunity for deeper discussions and networking, fostering stronger ties within our community. In addition, a Poster Award program was held to encourage young researchers and graduate students. Sixteen of the twenty posters, presented by non-PI researchers, were subject to participant voting, and eight outstanding presenters were recognized. We hope that this experience will help empower the next generation to play an active role internationally.

Importantly, all AMMRA board members unanimously elected the next President for the 2025–2026 term: Dr. Hsian-Jean Chin of the National Center for Biomodels, NIAR, Taiwan. The next AMMRA & AMPC Meeting will be hosted in Taipei by the National Center for Biomodels, NIAR, marking the 20th Anniversary of AMMRA. It is a memorable milestone that, at this historic moment, AMMRA will welcome its first female President.

I am confident that this meeting has not only advanced scientific exchange but also strengthened collaborations that will shape the next stage of biomedical research in our region and beyond. Once again, I extend my heartfelt gratitude to all participants, sponsors, and supporters who made this event possible.

Atsushi Yoshiki
President (2024-2025), The 15th AMMRA & AMPC Meeting
September 22, 2025