This panel broadly covers basic research across the neurosciences as well as the full spectrum of clinical medicine related to neurological and psychiatric conditions. All fields are included, such as molecular and cellular neuroscience, systems neuroscience, cognitive neuroscience, and clinical neuroscience.

In recent years, with the remarkable advances in AI, the momentum of data science has accelerated rapidly. There is a strong need for individuals who can understand both experimental science and data-driven approaches. Furthermore, progress in gene therapy and regenerative medicine has been extraordinary, and the role of researchers who bridge basic and clinical science in developing new treatments for intractable neurological diseases is becoming increasingly important. Research in these interdisciplinary fusion areas also falls within the scope of this panel. Above all, regardless of research field, we most welcome young researchers who take on difficult yet fundamentally important challenges.

Groundbreaking research that rewrites textbooks often requires many years before yielding results. Under FOREST (Fusion Oriented Research for disruptive Science and Technology) program, researchers can in principle receive support for seven years, empowering those who persist in tackling time-intensive themes.

Here, I would like to share a passage as a guiding message for young researchers striving to accomplish work that will endure for future generations. It is from a letter written by Natsume Sōseki to Ryūnosuke Akutagawa and Masao Kume, who at the time were emerging writers. Sōseki observed that people tend to want to become horses, but rarely succeed in becoming oxen—even though becoming an ox is essential—and he offered the following advice:

“Do not be impatient. Do not dull your mind. Persevere with endurance. The world knows to bow before persistence, but before sparks it grants only a fleeting memory. Push forward, groaning if you must, until the day you die. That is all. (…) The ox advances with calm transcendence.”
(Sōseki Complete Works, Vol. 15: Continued Letters, Iwanami Shoten, 1967)

Together with the advising faculty, we wholeheartedly support you in pushing forward like an ox—steadfast and persistent—so that you may achieve results capable of withstanding the tests of time.