10th Anniversary - President's message
TEN YEARS OF WORLD-SCALE RESEARCH
On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP), we would like to express our deepest gratitude to all those who have contributed to its success over the years. As someone who has been associated with the Program from its very outset, I would like to take this opportunity to record both my recollections and my hopes for the future.
The Program was originally proposed by Prime Minister Nakasone of Japan at the Venice Economic Summit held in Italy in 1987. Its aim was to promote basic research on biological functions and to make the results available throughout the world. The concept of the Program was further developed by international committees representing the seven Economic Summit countries?the G7? and the European Community. It was agreed to focus on two basic research areas: the elucidation of brain functions and the elucidation of biological functions at the molecular level. Progress in these fields was to be supported by Research Grants, Fellowships and Workshops, applying international peer review.
Following a joint invitation by the French government, the Region of Alsace and the City of Strasbourg, the International Human Frontier Science Program Organization (HFSPO) was established as the secretariat of the Program in Strasbourg, France, in October 1989. Since then, the Program has been developed, supported by the so-called Management Supporting Parties (MSPs), which are currently Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and the European Union.
I think that the development of the Program can be divided into three phases. The initial phase was from 1989, the establishment of the Organization, to 1992 when an Intergovernmental Conference was held in Tokyo. This phase witnessed the support of an impressive array of excellent scientific collaborations that would have been difficult or impossible to fund through traditional or national research granting agencies. During this period the yearly expenditure of the Program was increased to about 32 million US$.
The second phase was from 1992 to 1997, when a further Intergovernmental Conference was held in Washington. The activities of this phase were based on the Joint Communiqué adopted in Tokyo. All the MSPs acknowledged that its aims, objectives, and mission should be maintained and reinforced. The expenditure in this phase increased year by year and reached about 47 million US$ in 1997. Importantly, the MSPs reaffirmed at the Washington Conference the goals of the Tokyo Communiqué towards increased and equitable funding for the Program, and a significant increase is expected in the current third phase.
The Program is unique in several respects: it supports collaborative basic research at the international level, with an especially intercontinental character; it stimulates interdisciplinary research, because significant new ideas, techniques and discoveries often arise at the boundaries between disciplines; and it encourages scientists who are expected to play an important role in originating and pursuing creative research, at an early stage in their careers.
I would like to emphasize that the basic scientific activities of the Program are governed by prominent scientists from all the MSPs, and that the evaluation of applications is made only on the basis of scientific criteria through peer-review performed by scientists from all over the world.
Since the beginning ten years ago, HSFP has already funded 372 research grants totalling 214 million US$, involving 1571 awardees of 40 nationalities. Each of these grants has been used to enable several laboratories, often continents apart, to work together on the same research project. The Program has also been helpful in subsidizing the traveling and living expenses of about 1500 fellows belonging to more than 50 nationalities (92 million US$), and in setting up many high level workshops.
Over all this time, the Program has supported the cutting edge of basic research in molecular biology and brain sciences. Various projects have contributed significantly to our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying pathologies such as Alzheimer?s disease, prion disorders (e.g. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease) and AIDS. Fundamental insights have also been gained into a wide range of biological phenomena such as vision and movement, the behavior of neural networks, the immune system and the development of living organisms.
I am proud of the tremendous success of HFSP. We are especially happy that five research grantees went on to win Nobel Prizes (three for Physiology or Medicine, one for Chemistry and one for Physics) during the 1995-1997 period. This clearly demonstrates the quality and importance of the Program.
A new century is just around the corner. It goes without saying that this new era depends on the development of science and technology. It is my hope that the Human Frontier Science Program will continue to contribute not only to the promotion of basic research in its current areas, but also that it will be a model for intercontinental basic research programs in other areas, enjoying strong support from governments and international organizations.
Dr. Kozo IIZUKA
President of the Board of Trustees