In order to conduct animal experiments with due consideration for animal welfare, we are improving to improve experimental techniques and management methods for experimental animals, and the breeding environment. Since we humans and animals can only communicate non-verbally, we are interested in assessing the needs of animals. We are studying pain assessment and temperature management in postoperative mice by setting up an environment that is selective for the animals.
We also view dog walking as a “joint activity between owner and dog,” and research the health promotion of dogs and their owners through dog walking. Dog walking have been reported to have a positive effects on the physical and mental health of dogs and their owners. We are currently researching heat stroke prevention for dog owners and dogs during dog walking from the perspective of safe health promotion.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is one of the major causative diseases for dementia. Characteristic AD pathology, such as amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, are observed in aged animal brains, suggesting that AD pathology would be the sign of brain aging. Zoobiquity is an approach to investigate and treat diseases without any distinction of species. I have been working on the studies to clarify the mechanism of brain aging and the pathogenesis of AD by using nonhuman primates. I am also interested in how neuronal activities affect membrane traffic system in neural cells.

It is important to understand the physiology and behavior of livestock in relation to their environment, and to manage animal husbandry according to their needs. This is intended to maximize the productivity of livestock. From the livestock keeper point of view, it is important to increase labor productivity by saving labor, and it is essential to harmonize the requirements of livestock and their keepers.

I am researching standards for exercising state jurisdiction in Internet. I am also researching ways to protect students from natural disasters. In addition, I am conducting a legal analysis of informed consent in veterinary medicine.

We are engaged in nursing research on the creation and development of new technologies that can visualize the desire to care for animals setting our target on the nursing that emphasizes the happiness of all animals. In recent years, in particular, the aging of animals is accelerating its pace, so nursing in the senior period is required to be more practical and individualized. Above all else, we focus our attention on the prevention and management of pressure ulcers and push for relevant research.

Besides, in collaboration with animal nurses at various veterinary hospitals, we are working on research such as creating observation scales that are usable for clinical practice.

Obesity is the common nutritional disorder in veterinary medicine. I reserched any metabolic factor related genes and capture changes in individual metabolic capacity.
Disc Herniation is highly prevalent in some dog breeds such as miniature dachshunds. It is thought that gene mutations related to some structural factors are specifically conserved. I am studying those causal factors.

When injection substances such as anesthetics to experimental animals, they should be pharmaceutical or veterinary grade or the Japanese Pharmacopoeia products, and scientific justification is required for the use of non-pharmaceutical grade compounds. Pentobarbital sodium has been used as an anesthetic for small laboratory rodents because of its rapid on set of effect, rapid loss of consciousness, and low cost compared to other anesthetics. However, this anesthetic is no longer marketed, and it has become necessary to find an alternative anesthetic to pentobarbital sodium. In this study, we will devise new anesthetic methods by combining anesthetics, sedatives, and analgesics that are currently manufactured and marketed as drugs.

It seems to be common knowledge today that human rights are universal. However, despite the universality of human rights, discrimination based on race and gender, as well as human rights violations arising from religious backgrounds, continue to occur in the international community. One of the reasons behind this problem is the opinion that although the concept of human rights itself is universal, the particular circumstances (cultural) of each region in the international community are different, and therefore it is not really possible to implement human rights with the same standards in all regions. I believe that the universality that human rights possess is not necessarily in conflict with the particularities in a region. In order to pursue and clarify this view, I am researching how human rights (international human rights) should be addressed in the international community (methodology). The study examines this concept from the perspective of whether it is compatible with the universality of human rights. We also study what grounds the universality of human rights. In particular, we are studying whether the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which was the starting point for the numerous international human rights treaties created mainly by the United Nations, can be recognized as customary international law today.

My research interests are in Faculty Development (FD) and Staff Development (SD) in higher education. Until now I am engaged in development of textbooks for FD such as “Active Learning” and “Course Design”. My activity is not a discovery of new knowledge, but an integration of existing knowledge on teaching practice. Recently, I have been interested in development of practical approaches for academic advising.

To provide safer anesthesia for animals, I am studying anesthesia-related techniques and nursing interventions that veterinary nurses for companion animals should implement during the peri-anesthetic period (including before, during, and after anesthesia).
Among these, I have investigated focusing on the management of body temperature during magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examinations, which is said to pose many problems even in human medicine.
Also, I am actively researching nursing interventions that can support animals to stay as calm and comfortable as possible in veterinary hospitals.

Quantitative analysis of histopathological changes and brain atrophy using volumetric MRI in BSE prions to cynomolgus macaques. Our results point out that C-BSE and L-BSE infected monkeys could be compatible models of vCJD and sCJD of human.
Administration of the compound in macaques infected with BSE slowed down the development of neurological and psychological symptoms. The de novo rational design of chaperone compounds could lead to therapeutics that can bind to different prion protein strains to ameliorate the pathology of Prion disease.