On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Mizutani Foundation for Glycoscience, I would like to extend my sincere congratulations to Mr. Ken Mizutani, chairperson of the Board of Directors, and all other members and staff supporting its activities.The aim of the Mizutani Foundation for Glycoscience is to contribute to the welfare of mankind through, among others, the promotion of glycoscience by providing research grants for original basic research projects by glycoscientists in Japan and overseas, and extending support to international exchanges among researchers as well as assistance for the organization of glycoscience-related conferences. As one involved in glycoscience research, I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude for the great amount of support we have received to date from the Foundation.The most momentous event that has taken place during the five years since the Foundation's previous 25th anniversary (2017) is undoubtedly the outbreak of pandemic caused by new coronavirus (COVID-19) infection. Our lives were greatly affected by the coronavirus disaster: people were advised to refrain from unnecessary and nonurgent outings or eating out, and were encouraged to keep physical distancing, and to avoid closed spaces, crowded places and close-contact settings. For example, the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, both originally scheduled for the summer in 2020, were postponed for a year; school events such as graduation/entrance ceremonies and sports days, etc. were cancelled; and classes were held online instead of face-to-face classroom teaching. Research-related activities were also severely restricted, with experiments limited and conferences and symposia in Japan and overseas cancelled, postponed or held online. The Foundation's Selection Committee meetings have also been conducted online during the last two years. It was felt as if the ordinary has become the extraordinary and, in turn, the extraordinary has become the ordinary. As compared to the Spanish flu of about 100 years ago, 14Tamao Endo MessageSenior Fellow, Tokyo Metropolitan Geriatric Hospital and Institute of Gerontologythe Mizutani Foundation for GlycoscienceMessage for the 30th Anniversary of Board of Directors Chairperson, Selection Committee
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