Southern Kyushu and Okinawa Unit Center of Japan Environment and Children's Study was founded as a research institute in July 2010 under the Faculty of Life Sciences, Kumamoto University. Children are exposed to various environmental risks, such as natural and manmade chemicals and socio-economic factors. The Japanese government (Ministry of the Environment) established a birth cohort study in 2010 to better understand the effects of children's environmental exposures and to explore ways to reduce children's risks from environmental exposures. This study is the first large and long-term epidemiological study in Japan. From across the country, 100,000 families with pregnancies will be enrolled, and the children will be followed from birth until age 13. Kumamoto University was awarded as a Unit Center for EcoChil Study and will manage the overall regional study operations of 5 research locations in Kumamoto, Miyazaki and Okinawa prefecture. The Unit Center collect data within the designated study regions, and is to investigate environmental factors that affect children's health and development.

The Center for Medical Education and Research was founded in October 2010 to promote a particular mission for education of medical professionals, under the Faculty of Life Sciences, Kumamoto University. With a recent rapid introduction of the modern life science and technology to the field of health care and medicine, the clinical technology has advanced progressively. Under these situations, training of medical professionals who conduct the high quality medical care and safety is an urgent issue that we need to work out. Establishment of this Center is therefore aimed at contributing to the training of medical professionals through the research and practice in order to achieve the educational mission in fostering medical specialists. The Center carries out (i) research on building systems of education of medical professionals, (ii) curriculum reform in line with a new medical education system, (iii) education of clinical medicine by student participation and the practice in clinical medicine and procedures, etc.