OHIO welcomes Dr. Akiko Noda to campus as Glidden Visiting Professor from Chubu University

Professor Dr. Akiko Noda spent four weeks in Athens during the spring semester as the Robert Glidden Visiting Professor from Chubu University. Following her participation in a 2019 Chubu University research delegation visit to OHIO, the Bobcat community was thrilled to welcome her back to campus.

As a professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences in the Graduate School of Life and Health Sciences at Chubu University, Noda has focused her research on sleep medicine, clinical pathophysiology, preventative medicine, and physiology, conducting research on sleep disorder and cardiovascular disease, among others.

She traveled from Japan to Ohio University on February 20, and remained on campus until March 18. Her faculty host at OHIO was Dr. Shiyong Wu, professor of chemistry and biochemistry in the College of Arts and Sciences and director of the Edison Biotechnology Institute (EBI).

While Noda visited OHIO, she worked on joint research, i.e. prevention of cardiovascular disease leading to heart failure using hypertensive animal model at the EBI, particularly regarding clinical significance and the mechanism of action of solar ultraviolet light (sUV) on cardiovascular system with Dr. Wu, who is an expert in studying sUV-induced oxidative and nitrosative stress signaling pathways. In addition, they will report the new interesting findings soon.

“Dr. Noda’s visit brought some fresh ideas into my lab. The collaborative project in studying the effects of sUV on cardiovascular diseases was created by merging the research interests from the two labs and has led to the findings of a potential new method for prevention and treatment of hypertension-related cardiovascular diseases, “ shared Dr. Wu.

During her tenure, Noda toured numerous OHIO facilities, ranging from Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine (HCOM)’s Heritage Hall, including its clinical and classroom spaces, lab tours for HCOM and the College of Health Sciences and Professions, the Clinical and Translational Research Unit at HCOM, and Yamada International House, named in honor of Chubu University’s former president, Kazuo Yamada. 

Dr. Noda presented her research at a welcome reception on March 3, attended by numerous members of the OHIO community. She presented a talk titled “Cognitive Function and Sleep” at the Basic and Translational Research seminar, and also provided a presentation of her work along with numerous members of the EBI. 

Many meetings with faculty from across campus also took place, including Joseph Shields and other faculty researchers, Beth Longenecker, Darlene Berryman, Mari Hopper, Soichi Tanda, Yuanjie Mao, Gillian Ice, Emily Guseman, Shigeru Okada, Lee Ann Williams, Vishwajeetu Puri, Corinne Nielsen, Julie Suhr, John Kopchick and other EBI researchers, as well as members of the Chubu Relations Committee, Chris Thompson and Takaaki Suzuki. Gerry Krzic and Joung Hee Krzic also invited Dr. Noda to observe an Ohio Program of Intensive English (OPIE) communications class as well as provide remarks alongside President Hugh Sherman at the March 17 welcome event for 46 Chubu University students participating in the OHIO-Choki exchange program. 

Dr. Noda shared, “I really appreciate all who took the time to participate in opportunities and meetings with me. I found both the discussions and the tours very productive and informative. There is significant progress in medical research and education, based on my 2019 connections at OHIO and look forward to further beneficial relationships between Ohio University and Chubu University and human health in the future.”

Dr. Noda is the 17th Chubu University faculty member to serve as a Robert Glidden Visiting Professor and she is proud to represent her university. OHIO and Chubu University’s partnership started in 1973 and has continued to foster global engagement amongst the university communities.

Interim Executive Director for Global Affairs Ji-Yeung Jang shared, “Dr. Noda forged dynamic research connections while in Athens in 2019. It is gratifying to support the continued research connections between her work and faculty at OHIO through her participation as the Glidden Visiting Professor from Chubu. Our institutions’ robust academic and research ties remain vibrant through faculty mobility programs such as this and the Miura Visiting Professorship to Chubu.”

The Glidden Visiting Professorship is the inbound faculty mobility program with Chubu University. Learn more about the outbound Miura Visiting Professorship by reading accounts of 2018 Kohei Miura Visiting Professor Chris Thompson and 2019 Kohei Miura Visiting Professor Benjamin Bates' time at Chubu University. Dr. Young Kim, assistant professor of geography, will serve as the Miura Visiting Professor in summer 2022, followed by Dr. Jacob Hiler, associate professor of marketing, in 2023. Applications for the 2024 Miura Visiting Professor are currently in review. 

For additional information about Dr. Noda’s work, or for additional information on the Kohei Miura Visiting Professorship, please contact the Office of Global Affairs at globalaffairs@ohio.edu.