About IGM

Message from IGM Director

Institute for Genetic Medicine Aim and Mission

The Institute for Genetic Medicine (IGM) was established in April 2000 by unifying the Institute of Immunological Science (formerly known as Hoppou Foundation for Tuberculosis Research), which was founded more than 60 years ago, and the Cancer Institute affiliated with the School of Medicine, which was founded over 40 years ago. Currently, IGM has 16 laboratories and facilities in total and performs research activities mainly in the medical sciences in collaboration with other Departments at Hokkaido University including the School of Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Department of Chemistry Graduate School of Science, Graduate School of Chemical Sciences and Engineering, Graduate School of Life Science, and Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine. In addition to its faculty, IGM hosts more than 50 undergraduate and graduate students as well as foreign students and visiting scientists from various countries, giving it a total of about 200 members, making it one of the largest research institutes for basic medical sciences and translational research in Eastern Japan. Since 2010, IGM has been certified by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) as a Joint Usage/Research Center for infection-associated cancers, such as those caused by sustained infection with bacteria and viruses, and therefore many researchers both inside and outside of Japan visit IGM to perform relating research activities.
IGM has four core research areas: Infection, Cancer, Immunity and Inflammation. It aims to obtain new insights into the pathogenesis of diseases related to these areas and to develop novel treatment strategies by investigating from the molecular to in vivo levels how gene functions affect disease development. The institute encourages innovative and challenging ideas from its researchers. This way of thinking is intended to help discover new phenomena related to the disease pathogenesis and new prevention and therapeutic measures. In addition to research, IGM puts a strong emphasis on the education of its young researchers. Therefore, we perform various activities to support them. For example, we have started the Ichiro Azuma Foundation to provide oversea travel supports to our young investigators and been organizing the interdisciplinary symposium of Hokkaido University from 2015 to give them opportunities for collaborations in/out of Hokkaido University. IGM has places an emphasis on community engagement, including coordinating events with local schools and holding an annual IGM public exhibition.
With its emphasis on research and education and attention to community service, IGM aims to make a strong impact on society by establishing new concepts in the life sciences and helping translate these findings to clinical practice.

Nov, 2022
Director, Masaaki Murakami