KFU – RIKEN

The Institute of Physical and Chemical Research, RIKEN is a leading Japanese research center, one of the key KFU’s research partners. Collaboration embraces a wide range of areas, including Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Medicine, Engineering and Computer Technologies. The Strategic Partnership Agreement was signed in May 2016.

Complex of joint KFU – RIKEN research laboratories: 

at KFU Institute of Physics

• Laboratory of Femtosecond Spectroscopy
• Laboratory of Physics of Strongly Correlated Electron Systems
• Laboratory of Synthesis and Analysis of Thin-Filmed Systems

All the research laboratories feature various research areas, but they are united by one goal – generation and study of new functional and smart materials for diverse technologies.

• International Center of Quantum Technologies (jointly with Okinawa Institute of Research and Technologies, Japan): research in the area of quantum technologies and quantum informatics at KFU Institute of Chemistry
• Laboratory of Biofunctional Chemistry: research on innovative glycoconjugates that selectively detect tumor

at KFU Institute of Fundamental Medicine and Biology

• Laboratory of Functional and Applied Genomics: translational research conducted using highly productive sequencing in oncogenetics and pharmacogenetics in the search for perspective diagnostic solutions on therapy optimization.

at RIKEN

In October 2015, a joint Russian-Japanese development of systems for repetitive surgeries based on the reconstruction of patients’ characteristics according to MRI was launched at RIKEN (jointly with Juntendo University, Japan and Republican Clinical Cancer Center, Tatarstan Republic).

In August 2016, a KFU-RIKEN joint unit “Translational Genomics” was established at RIKEN  .

Scope of major research activities includes:

• projects on the generation of new types of biosensors and approaches to storage of biomaterials in biobanks
• International consortium MUSCLE-FANTOM: compilation of an atlas of promotors activity and RNI enhancers transcription in human and animal muscles under normal conditions and pathology; study of regulating enhancers

of muscle atrophy and dystrophy

• international project INFLAMMATION-FANTOM, atlas of pathogenetic regulation of infectious and oncological diseases at RNI transcription level in immune system cells (jointly with Kanazawa University), etc.

KFU-RIKEN Lab is the platform for the research of hereditary tumors of female reproductive system. Together with oncologists we diagnose patients with hereditary tumors to choose optimal treatment and monitor early recurrences.

Since 2017, the National Bone Marrow Donor Registry works at KFU, established in cooperation with Rusfond, a major national charity organization. High-performance genome sequencing is used for this registry for the first time in Russian practice.

KFU-RIKEN joint research outcomes

Information on KFU – RIKEN joint research projects in Medicine was included into the special issue of governmental information bulletin «We Are Tomodachi«, dedicated to the collaboration between Japan and Russian and published just before the visit of the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, to Japan in December 2016.

In 2020 KFU and RIKEN became the winners in the framework of 8-th megagrant competition under the P220 Federal Program for state support of research conducted under the guidance of leading scientists in Russian universities. The project is titled ‘Regulatory genetic and epigenetic mechanisms of development and functioning of skeletal and cardiac muscles in humans and primates in normal and pathological states’; the team leader is Hayashizaki Yoshihide, Program Director at RIKEN.