Pursuing scientific breakthroughs

Climate, Environment, Sustainability

Innovation to Address Climate Change: Donor support will help OIST continue and expand research and initiatives to address climate change, such as developing next-generation solar cells and new methods to guide conservation and adaptation planning for a range of ecological settings.

Marine Science at OIST: Donor support will enable OIST to establish a research center to improve ocean health through world-leading discoveries; teach environmental DNA (eDNA) sequencing techniques to international researchers; create a fellowship for students to engage locally in coral restoration; and fully equip the OIST Marine Science Station with a scientific research vessel, diving facilities, a state-of-the-art husbandry system, and an aquarium.

[Donor’s voice: donor to Prof. Satoh’s coral research - Imano Family]

Health and Aging

OIST envisions a world-class research program on healthy aging. Okinawa is one of the provinces of Japan with the highest number of centenarians. Various hypotheses have been put forward to explain this, including genetic variation, particular dietary components, or healthy lifestyle. The more we understand the mechanisms controlling aging, the more we can intervene to promote healthy ageing. The research project will be advised by OIST faculty with internationally recognized expertise in human genome analysis and artificial intelligence for analysis of large datasets such as microbiome data.

Basic / Specific Research

“I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.” – Albert Einstein

OIST currently has more than 80 tenured or tenure-tracked faculty members each leading an independent research lab focused on specific topics across a wide range of disciplines in fundamental science. Discoveries in fundamental science are the building blocks of our knowledge about the natural world and ourselves as human beings. Donors may support specific research projects or labs. Browse the Faculty and Research database to find the topics that are interesting to you. Drive scientific curiosity and discovery by making a research-designated gift.

Donate now or contact us for further inquiry.

Shohei Suzuki Research Safety Fund

We are privileged to be working in research, where rapid advances in knowledge and technology are produced in an atmosphere of excitement and sometimes competition. As scientific experiments inevitably involve many risk factors, the University is committed to creating a safety culture to ensure that scientific advances will be achieved in a safe and high-quality research environment. To promote this safety culture, we have established the Shohei Suzuki Research Safety Fund, in memory of Dr. Shohei Suzuki, whose dedication to marine research will always be remembered by the whole OIST community.

Learn more about the Shohei Suzuki Research Safety Fund and make a donation today.