Recently, the number of allergy patients in Japan is estimated to be over 30% of the population. The number of patients is increasing every year. In particular, seasonal allergic rhinitis severely impacts quality of life (QOL) during the season. Due to changes in the living environment, the prevalence of bronchial asthma is also increasing every year. This trend is particularly noticeable among children and infants. At the same time, in Japan where the smoking population is larger than in other advanced countries, approximately 8.5% of Japanese 40 years of age and above are considered to have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This disease is becoming a serious social issue in Japan due to the rapid aging society. Therefore, research into causes, treatment and prevention of respiratory diseases and allergies is being conducted at many research institutions and it is very important to continue such research in order to protect the health of people in Japan.

Given this situation, MSD Life Science Foundation introduced the scholarship for overseas study in 2010 to support young Japanese researchers in the areas of respiratory disease and allergies. We hope this program helps top talent researchers to achieve research results at foreign institutes so that they can greatly contribute to the maintenance and improvement of people's health.