Jun-ichi Kira, M.D., Ph.D. Congress President 55th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Neurology Department of Neurology, Neurological Institute Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University Dear Colleagues,  We are pleased to host the 55th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Neurology, to be held at the Fukuoka International Congress Center and other venues from May 21st (Wednesday) to 24th (Saturday), 2014. It is a great honor for me to serve as the Congress President of this prominent meeting.   The aim of our society is not only to benefit physicians who specialize in neurology but also to bring about wellbeing for all of society by deciphering the mechanisms of neurological disease and developing novel treatments. Neurological disease is having an increasing influence on national health, and the responsibility and role of our society are rapidly growing every year. Therefore, I firmly believe that the purpose of this scientific meeting is to discuss the latest and most significant research achievements in the study of neurological disease and clinical neuroscience and to share the information among all members.  It was exactly 50 years ago that the first independent neurology department in Japan was established in Kyushu University Hospital, when a new history of neurology commenced in Japan. The motto of the first chairperson, the late Professor Yoshigoro Kuroiwa, was “Keep Pioneering”. Physicians from the internal medicine and psychiatry departments, who believed that specialized neurologists were keenly required to catch up with neurology in Western countries, actively participated in the launch of the new department in 1963. After a half century has elapsed, I believe that we need to revitalize the spirit of these founders who established neurology in Japan and Asia, and to continue with efforts to solve existing medical issues through innovation with passion and dreams for the future.  For this scientific meeting, we have decided on the main theme of “Keep Pioneering”. We are developing a variety of plans to further enrich the existing programs and also to conduct academic meetings that will be significant for all participating doctors. For the Special Lecture, we will invite Professor Richard Ransohoff from Cleveland Clinic, USA, who is a premier neurologist. We will also invite more than twenty leading experts in each field of neurology and clinical neuroscience from around the world, including Professor Steven G. Younkin (Mayo Clinic, USA), Professor Jorge Oksenberg (University of California San Francisco, USA), and Professor Hans Luders (Case Western Reserve University, USA).  The congress poster adopts the design of a famous textile of the city, Hakata-ori texture, which expresses waves from the Japan sea to Hakata Bay overlaid with the globe showing East Asia. Hakata is an ancient name of Fukuoka city, which has been Japan’s gateway to Asian countries and the location of vigorous international exchange and interaction for more than 2000 years. Therefore, we eagerly wish for many neurologists from Asia to actively participate in the meeting. As the Congress President’s special program, we will have International Sessions in collaboration with the American Academy of Neurology and the East Asian Neurology Forum, where not only international integrated neurological science symposia covering Clinical Neuroscience, Dementia, Stroke, Motor Neuron Disease, Parkinson Disease, Demyelinating Disease, and Epilepsy, but also international education sessions including Telemedicine and International Hands-on will be held. These sessions, which will be carried out in English for entire days, will enormously facilitate the exchange of new information and novel ideas among international attendees. These international programs will be the keynote messages of “Keep Pioneering from Asia to the World”. I expect that they will also become footholds in the development of neurological research in Asia.  We are determined to offer a venue that encourages active exchange between physicians engaged in clinical neurology and neurological research in Asia and throughout the world, and to realize an inspiring scientific meeting worthy of the main theme of “Keep Pioneering”. I, together with all my colleagues, will spare no effort in engaging in preparations over the next year. We greatly appreciate your active participation in the meeting and warm support.  We very much look forward to welcoming you to Fukuoka in 2014.

＜ Secretariat ＞ ＜Congress Secretariat＞ Department of Neurology, Neurological Institute, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University 3-1-1 Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka 812-8582, JAPAN TEL: +81-92-642-5340 FAX: +81-92-642-5352 c/o Congress Corporation 1-9-17-11F, Tenjin, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka, 810-0001, JAPAN TEL:+81-92-716-7116 FAX:+81-92-716-7143 E-mail:neuro55@congre.co.jp

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