Received on 05/07/2022
Name: Takuya Kumamoto
Country: Japan
Current Job Position: Professor, Department of Synthetic Organic Chemistry, Graduate School of Biomedical & Health Sciences, (School of Pharmaceutical Sciences) Hiroshima University, Japan
Area of Expertise: Research in Synthetic Organic Chemistry (Antibiotics / antiviral natural products), Medicinal chemistry
Current Role in the SIG/Section: New Medicines SIG Chair
Describe your experience in the SIG/Section: Document preparation (FIP (Green Pharmacy) 2015, J. Pharm Sci. 2016); Session proposal in FIP World Congress (Buenos Aires 2016, Stockholm 2017, Abu Dhabi 2019); Webinar organization (2022)
Please discuss a bit about your career path and how you have come to be in your current position: For my undergraduate research, I chose the laboratory of synthetic organic chemistry in pharmacy department to conduct research on the synthesis of nucleobases and nucleosides. I continued my research in organic chemistry at a different university as a graduate student and a post-doc pioneering new type of reaction of organic chemistry. After that, I started my teaching career as a research assistant at faculty of pharmaceutical sciences of university. The laboratory focused on the research of total synthesis of naturally occurring biologically active compounds with complex structures, while promoting research on chemical constituents of medicinal plants. I was involved in the research on the total synthesis of anti-tumor active polyketide antibiotics, and this research continues to date. In this way, I have been involved in pharmaceutical science from synthetic organic chemistry.
How do you see the importance of FIP for the Pharmaceutical Profession? While FIP can assist pharmacists in the terms of pharmacy practice, there is also solid support from the field of pharmacy science. FIP provides a platform to expand their idea from the field of not only practice but also of pharmaceutical sciences.
Please share any suggestions or advice for early career pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists: Learning about the history of pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences can help pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists to solve the issues they are currently considering. You may find something with learning about the history of a field of pharmacy that is a bit far from your own subject. It would be a pleasure if our SIG may help you in this term.
Please talk about past and current projects of this SIG/Section that you were involved in or passionate about: “Combatting Malaria: New horizon of vaccines and drug discovery by young pharmaceutical scientists” (webinar organized by NM SIG and NGPS SIG, Feb 2022). Malaria is responsible for approximately 400 thousand deaths annually, resulting in an enormous public health burden on many of the tropical and subtropical countries. Although projects are ongoing in WHO, pharmaceutical companies and foundations, basic university-based research is also essential against for treatment and drug resistance in malaria. Engagement of young pharmaceutical scientists in the field is necessary to overcome this situation. In this event, Dr Eizo Takashima, Ehime University, Japan was invited as a speaker for preliminary lecture, and early carrier scientists including Khalid Garba Mohammed, Lecturer, Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria , as recommended by YPG, joined to the webinar to discuss about the science of malaria.
