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The Department of Integrative Physiology was originally founded as the Department of Physiology Ⅰ when Kyorin University School of Medicine was established, and the name was transformed into its current form in April 2004. Throughout its history, the department has been devoted primarily to education and research in neurophysiology, guided by the principle of seeking a comprehensive understanding of how information processing at the cellular level is integrated and expressed as functions of the organism as a whole.

I, Akimasa Hayashi, have recently been entrusted with leading this department, a responsibility that has been handed down from its first head, Professor Shiroh Watanabe, through Professor Naoki Hirai, and Professor Yukari Ohki. My own background lies in pathological research and diagnostic pathology, where I have studied the relationship between morphological changes and the molecular mechanisms of disease. Physiology is the discipline that seeks to clarify how biological phenomena arise and how they are expressed as functions at the levels of cells, tissues, organs, and the whole body. To deepen this understanding, it is important not only to investigate normal function, but also to consider how such function is altered and manifested in disease.

While honoring the department’s long-standing tradition in neurophysiology, I hope to further advance integrative physiology by adding a pathological perspective that links structure and function, and by viewing biological phenomena as a continuum extending from normal physiology to disease. In education, we aim to help students experience physiology not merely as a body of knowledge, but as a discipline directly connected to clinical medicine and the understanding of disease. In research, building on the department’s accumulated strengths in neural function, bodily cognition, and the perception of pain and itch, we will seek to deepen our understanding of biological phenomena by integrating analyses at the cellular and tissue levels with those at the level of the whole organism.

Building on the traditions established by our predecessors while bringing in new perspectives, we will strive to contribute to the continued advancement of physiological education and research at Kyorin University. The Department of Integrative Physiology warmly welcomes students, graduate students, and young researchers who wish to join us in pursuing new lines of research that connect structure and function and bridge basic science and clinical medicine, with neurophysiology as our foundation. Let us enjoy science together!

June 5, 2026

Department of Integrative Physiology
Professor, Akimasa Hayashi