  NATIONAL INSITUTE FOR BASIC BIOLOGY

National Institute for Basic Biology

ORGANIZATION OF THE INSTITUTE

T he National Institute for Basic Biology, NIBB, is a part of the Okazaki National Research Institutes (ONRI) located on a hill overlooking the old town of Okazaki. The NIBB was established in 1977 and its activities are supported by Monbu-sho (the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture) of Japan. The ONRI are composed of three independent organizations, National Institute for Basic Biology (NIBB), National Institute for Physiological Sciences (NIPS) and Institute for Molecular Science (IMS).

Policy and Decision Making

T he Director-General oversees the operation of the Institute assisted by two advisory bodies, the Advisory Council and Steering Council. The Advisory Council is made up of distinguished scholars representing various fields of science and culture, and advises the Director-General on the basic policy of the Institute. The Steering Council is made up of professors of the Institute and an equal number of leading biologists in Japan outside NIBB, and advises the Director-General on the scientific activities of the Institute. The Council advises on faculty appointments and on the Institute¹s annual budget as well as its future prospect.

Administration

A dministration of the Institute is undertaken by the Administration Bureau of the Okazaki National Research Institutes under the direct auspices of the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture.

Research

T he Institute conducts its research programs through three departments and one laboratory organized into 17 divisions.

E ach division has its own research project and is staffed by a professor, an associate professor and two research associates. A division forms, in principle, an independent project team. Six of the divisions are for adjunct professorship and are under professors who hold joint appointments with other universities. The adjunct division has resident research associates. The arrangement aims to facilitate exchange in research activities in Japan. The Technical Department manages the activities of research techniques and helps to promote research activities of each division and also to maintain the research resources of the Institute. The Department also undertakes the technical education of its staff.

Research Support Facility

T he research support facility of the NIBB consists of the Large Spectrograph Laboratory, Tissue and Cell Culture Laboratory, Computer Laboratory, Plant Culture Laboratory, Plant Cell Culture Laboratory, Experimental Farm, Laboratory of Stress-Resistant Plants and Center for Transgenic Animals and Plants. In addition, seven facilities are operated jointly with the NIPS; they consist of the Radioisotope Facility, Electron Microscope Center, Center for Analytical Instruments, Machine Shop, Laboratory Glassware Facility, Animal Care Facility, and Low-Temperature Facility.

Campus

T he Okazaki National Research Institutes covers an area of 150,000 m² with four principal buildings. The NIBB¹s main research building has a floor space of 10,930 m². Two-thirds of the space was completed in 1982 and the remaining third in June, 1983. The buildings which house the research support facility were also completed in June, 1983. A building for Laboratory of Gene Expression and Regulation (2,577 m²) was newly built in December, 1996.

Department/Laboratory	Divisions
Department of Cell Biology	Cell Mechanisms Bioenergetics Cell Proliferation (adjunct) Cell Fusion (adjunct) Cellular Communication (adjunct)
Department of Developmental Biology	Reproductive Biology Cell Differentiation Morphogenesis Developmental Biology (adjunct)
Department of Regulation Biology	Molecular Neurobiology Cellular Regulation Biological Regulation (adjunct) Behavior and Neurobiology (adjunct)
Laboratory of Gene Expression and Regulation	Gene Expression and Regulation I Gene Expression and Regulation II Speciation Mechanisms I Speciation Mechanisms II

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Last Modified: 12:00, May 28, 1999