On April 18, 2023, President Mark Tykocinski of Thomas Jefferson University (TJU: Philadelphia, USA) and three members of his delegation visited the International Clinical Cancer Research Center (ICCRC) at Kobe University Hospital. Philadelphia is a goodwill cooperation city of Kobe, and TJU established the Jefferson Japan Center and engages in exchange of healthcare professionals between TJU and Japan. In addition, TJU hopes to promote cooperation with Japan in the field of medical industry in the future, and the visit to ICCRC was part of a visit to related organizations of the Kobe Biomedical Innovation Cluster.

The delegation shared opinions on future exchanges with Kobe University’s President FUJISAWA Masato, MANIWA Yoshimasa (Director of the Kobe University Hospital), KURODA Ryosuke (Director of the ICCRC) and YAMAGUCHI Raizo (Deputy Director of the ICCRC). They also had a chance to operate "hinotori™ Surgical Robot System," the first made-in-japan robotic assisted surgery system, and showed a strong interest in Kobe University's medical-engineering collaboration.

(International Clinical Cancer Research Center (ICCRC))