Welcome to Tsukuba! Professor Monica Ko ようこそ! モニカ・コ先生/ NCKU国立成功大学より
看護師 志塚彩香さん、感染症内科チーム秘書 木村祥子さんが、空港でMonica Nai-Ying Ko先生（台湾 国立成功大学）をお出迎えNurse Ayaka Shizuka and Ms. Shoko Kimura, secretary of the Infectious Diseases team, welcomed Professor Monika Nai-Ying Ko (Taiwan National Cheng Kung University：NCKU) at the airport.
このたび本学に客員教授としてご滞在いただく Monica Nai-Ying Ko先生 は、HIVや梅毒、COVID-19といった感染症の検査・診断,研究を専門とされ、国際的にも豊富なご経験をお持ちの研究者です。パンデミック以降、感染症対策は世界的にますます重要性を増しており、本学附属病院においても「防災•感染症管理棟」を県内で唯一設け、臨床・研究の両面から取り組んでいます。
Monica Ko先生は、本学附属病院、鈴木広道 医師が率いる医学医療系感染症内科学チームの活動にもご協力いただき、HIV感染症や輸入感染症（マラリア、デング熱、旅行者下痢症など）に関する研究のさらなる発展が期待されています。今回の滞在中には、医学医療系の教員との合同プロジェクトとして、HIVや梅毒に関する検査実施も計画されており、さらにはセミナーや講義を通じて学生との交流にも積極的に参加してくださる予定です。
また、Monica Ko先生をお迎えするにあたり、本学附属病院 感染症内科で務める志塚彩香看護師（米国看護師免許取得）もサポートを行っています。志塚さんは、Monica Ko先生のご専門と本学の臨床現場をつなぐ架け橋として活躍され、感染症に関する新たな課題解決への道筋をともに切り開いていくことが期待されます。
さらに、Monica Ko先生は日本語にもとてもご関心をお持ちで、日常会話や買い物などにも御滞在中は挑戦されることでしょう。本学の学生や教職員にとっても、国際的な視点に触れる貴重な機会となることをとても楽しみにしています！
We are honored to welcome Professor Monica Nai-Ying Ko as a visiting professor at our university. Professor Ko specializes in the testing, diagnosis, and research of infectious diseases such as HIV, syphilis, and COVID-19, and brings with her a wealth of international experience. Since the pandemic, the importance of infectious disease control has been growing worldwide. At our university hospital, we have established the prefecture’s only program in Disaster and Infectious Disease Management, advancing efforts in both clinical practice and research.
During her stay, Professor Ko will also collaborate with the Department of Infectious Diseases, led by Dr. Hiromichi Suzuki, contributing to the further development of research on HIV as well as imported infectious diseases such as malaria, dengue fever, and travelers’ diarrhea. In addition, a joint project with faculty members, institute Medicine is planned to implement HIV and syphilis testing. Professor Ko will also actively participate in seminars and lectures, providing valuable opportunities for interaction with our students.
To support Professor Ko during her stay, Ms. Ayaka Shizuka, a nurse in the Department of Infectious Diseases at our university hospital who is licensed as a registered nurse in the United States, will serve as a key facilitator. Ms. Shizuka will play an important role as a bridge between Professor Ko’s expertise and the clinical practice at our university hospital, helping to open new paths toward solving challenges in infectious disease management.
Furthermore, Professor Ko has expressed a strong interest in the Japanese language and looks forward to practicing daily conversation and even trying shopping in Japanese during her stay. For our students and faculty members, this will surely be a wonderful opportunity to gain insights from an international perspective, and we are very much looking forward to it!