Fujifilm Renews Fellowship Fund at Harvard Medical School for Translational Science Research

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Dec. 20, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FUJIFILM Holdings America Corporation (Fujifilm), today announced that it has renewed its commitment to the Fujifilm Fellowship fund at Harvard Medical School (HMS) to advance education and research in the field of translational medicine, the process of applying basic research in the laboratory for new therapeutic development. The gift will support up to 8 additional Ph.D. candidates at HMS through 2024. 

Established in 2019, the fellowship program is designed to equip young scientists with the specialized skills needed to translate their research findings into cutting-edge medical solutions for patients. 

Harvard recently named Kailyn Doiron and Kanae Sasaki the newest Fujifilm Fellow recipients. They follow in the footsteps of 11 previous Ph.D. candidates at HMS who have received Fujifilm Fellowships, which awards two years of research funding to promising students from across the nine HMS-based life sciences Ph.D. programs. HMS leadership selects all program beneficiaries.

“Fujifilm’s strong and spirited partnership with Harvard Medical School continues to flourish as we work diligently toward a common goal—the discovery and development of new therapeutics and treatments for a wide array of unmet medical needs,” says Yutaka Yamaguchi, general manager, Life Sciences Business Division, Life Sciences Strategy Headquarters, FUJIFILM Corporation; chairman and chief executive officer, FUJIFILM Irvine Scientific, Inc. “We extend our sincerest congratulations to the two highly esteemed doctoral fellows who recently received grants and whose work has the potential to change lives for patients and their families.”  

Like all previous recipients, the two latest Fujifilm Fellows represent the school’s most promising Ph.D. students:

Kailyn Doiron is a third-year student in the Systems, Synthetic, and Quantitative Biology Ph.D. program. She has a background in cell and molecular biology and a strong passion for synthetic biology research. Kailyn works in the lab of Pamela Silver, Ph.D., the Elliott T. and Onie H. Adams Professor of Biochemistry and Systems Biology in the Blavatnik Institute at HMS. As a member of the Silver Lab, Kailyn will continue to focus on bringing synthetic biology ideas to a place where they can be translated into transformative new medicines for patients. Ultimately, Kailyn strives to develop novel protein-based therapeutics to address the unmet medical need for safe and effective chronic and inflammatory pain treatments.

Kanae Sasaki is enrolled in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences Ph.D. program. Previously, Kanae gained extensive research experience working as a research assistant throughout her undergraduate years, and later as a research technician at Massachusetts General Hospital in the Joung Lab. She is now studying gene therapy for a retinal degenerative disease, retinitis pigmentosa (RP), in the lab of Constance Cepko, Ph.D., the Bullard Professor of Genetics and Neuroscience in the Blavatnik Institute at HMS. Kanae’s goal is to develop gene therapies that prolong photoreceptor cell survival that can help patients with RP retain their sight and improve their quality of life.

“We are deeply grateful to the Fujifilm fellows’ faculty advisors for their guidance and mentoring in the pursuit of this potentially life-changing translational research,” commented Bruce E. Novich Sc.D., division president, FUJIFILM Holdings America Corporation. “These fellowships are one of several life science partnership initiatives between Fujifilm and Harvard University, all of which continue to inspire us to NEVER STOP advancing medical sciences.”

In addition to their Ph.D. program, Fujifilm Fellows are enrolled in the Therapeutics Graduate Program, a new curriculum that focuses on pharmacology, toxicology, and drug discovery. Here they receive rigorous multidisciplinary training in identifying and developing novel therapeutics, understanding and investigating mechanisms of drug action, analyzing the reasons for clinical failures, and developing new compounds and applying them in preclinical and clinical studies to improve the treatment of disease.

About Fujifilm Fellowship
The Fujifilm Fellowship program was designed by Fujifilm and HMS to advance translational medicine research by investing in the next-generation of scientists. The selected beneficiaries who have been admitted to Harvard Medical School’s Therapeutics Graduate Program will receive financial assistance to pursue their education and research in therapeutic innovation. HMS leadership selects all program beneficiaries. For more information, please visit https://www.fujifilmfellowship.com/
 
About Fujifilm
FUJIFILM Holdings America Corporation is the regional headquarters for the Americas. It is comprised of 21 affiliate companies across North and Latin America that are engaged in the research, development, manufacture, sale and service of FUJIFILM products and services. The company’s portfolio represents a broad spectrum of industries including medical and life sciences, electronic, chemical, graphic arts, information systems, industrial products, broadcast, recording media, and photography. For more information, please visit: https://www.fujifilm.com/us/en/about/region.

FUJIFILM Holdings Corporation, Tokyo, Japan, brings cutting edge solutions to a broad range of global industries by leveraging its depth of knowledge and fundamental technologies developed in its relentless pursuit of innovation. Its proprietary core technologies contribute to the various fields including healthcare, highly functional materials, document solutions and imaging products. These products and services are based on its extensive portfolio of chemical, mechanical, optical, electronic and imaging technologies. For the year ended March 31, 2021, the company had global revenues of $21 billion, at an exchange rate of 106 yen to the dollar. Fujifilm is committed to responsible environmental stewardship and good corporate citizenship. For more information, please visit: www.fujifilmholdings.com.

###
All product and company names herein may be trademarks of their registered owners.

Christine Jackman
FUJIFILM Holdings America Corporation
9142614959
[email protected]