1. BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE NIPPON MEDICAL SCHOOL FOUNDATION

Nippon Medical School Founded in 1876, Nippon Medical School is located in Bunkyo Ward, which is in the center of the Tokyo Metropolitan area. The school consists of the Faculty of Medicine, the Postgraduate School, several affiliated research centers, and four affiliated teaching hospitals, offering medical education and advanced medical care, as well as carrying out research. To date, Nippon Medical School have accepted a large number of foreign researchers and trainees and have successfully contributed to international exchange between Japan and various other countries.

2. PURPOSE OF THE SCHOLARSHIP

The purpose of this scholarship is to provide financial support to foreign researchers and trainees who wish to pursue postgraduate studies at the facilities run by the Nippon Medical School Foundation to raise their level of expertise in medicine, veterinary and animal science, applied life science, and the other areas.

3. NUMBER OF SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE

Approximately 10

4. ELIGIBILITY

Eligibility for a scholarship is dependent on the following requirements. (1) Applicants must be registered as a Research Associate or Trainee of the Foundation. (2) The period of research or training at the Foundation must last three full months up to a maximum of one year after the scholarship payments commence. (3) Applicants are required to have been informally accepted by one of the research or training facilities of the Foundation; the period of research or training must also have been agreed in advance between the applicant and the relevant facility. (4) Applicants must not be receiving financial support from any other organization, governmental or otherwise. (5) Applicants must have sufficient personal financial means to pursue their training or research at the Foundation. (6) Applicants must have an excellent research or training record and also good prospects of success at the institutions they belong to after returning to their home countries. (7) Applicants must have a sufficient command of Japanese or English to pursue their research or training at the Foundation.

5. DURATION AND VALUE OF THE SCHOLARSHIP

• 1.In principle, the duration of the scholarship is up to twelve months within the 2012 academic year (April 1, 2012 to March 31, 2013)
• 2.The scholarship is worth up to \100,000 per month. No allowance will be paid for travel to and from Japan.
• 3.Applications for scholarship extensions of up to twelve months will be accepted from researchers or trainees with exceptional achievement records. A maximum of two such applications will be approved each year.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE

• 1.A completed application form, detailed research or training plans, and letters of recommendation should be submitted to Nippon Medical School International Exchange Center, either in Japanese or in English. If the applicant is not currently registered as a Research Associate or Trainee of the Foundation, he/she must also take steps to obtain such status.
• 2.Applications for the 2012 academic year should be submitted between July 1 and September 30, 2011

7. NOTIFICATION OF APPLICATION RESULTS

All applicants will be notified of the results of their applications as soon as decisions are made (around November).

8. REVOCATION OF SCHOLARSHIP OFFERS

An offer of a scholarship may be revoked if the recipient fails to present himself/herself at the host university by the last day of the month in which scholarship payments are scheduled to commence.

9. NOTES ON DOCUMENT PREPARATION

• 1.The applicants themselves must prepare all documents, excluding the acceptance letter from the host university and letters of recommendation.
• 2.The documents must be either in English or Japanese, and the information in the documents must be accurate. If in English, the documents must be typewritten (personal computer printouts are also acceptable). If in Japanese, the documents may be handwritten in square kaisho style.
• 3.Any omissions, insufficiency, or deliberately inaccurate descriptions in the documents could result in disqualification of the applicant.

* FURTHER NOTES ON FILLING OUT THE APPLICATION FORM
1. Name: Write name in the following order: first name, family name.
2. Address in Japan: This is only applicable to those who already live or have secured a residence in Japan.
3. Specialist Field: Supply details of your specialist field of study.
4. Educational Background: State your higher educational career beyond high school or special technical high school in chronological order.
5. Professional Background: Give details of your professional career in chronological order.
6. Degrees/Qualifications: List your academic degrees and special qualifications, if applicable.
7. Host Research/Training Department: State the name of the institute or department at this Foundation that has informally accepted you as a researcher or trainee.
8. Position at Host University: Circle as appropriate.
9. Financial Resources: Circle both entries if you are drawing on your own financial resources and receiving support from a sponsor at the same time.
10. Sponsors: Give details of your financial sponsor, if any, including the name, address, position and institutional affiliation, relationship to you, and the amount and duration of the allowance.
11. Motive for Application: Describe(1) the reason you wish to pursue research or training in a foreign country; (2) the specific subject you intend to pursue in your research or training here; and (3) what you plan to do after returning to your country.
12. Research and Training Accomplishments: List your past presentations at academic societies and published papers under separate categories, as shown in the sample format below: [Academic Society Presentations] Su S, Watanabe A, Shimada T: Mutation frequency of p53 cDNA introduced by a retroviral vector. The American Society of Gene Therapy 7th Annual Meeting (2004) Minneapolis, MN. [Published Papers] Zhi CL, Migita M, Hayakawa J, Fukunaga Y: Establishment of modified retroviral vector targeting X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency. J. Nippon Med. Sch. (2004) 71: 51-56