The Annual Scientific Meeting of ACR (American College of Rheumatology) 2012, which I participated in through the Internship Program, set a record of 20,000 participants and was held at the convention center in Washington, D.C. This conference, held November 9 through November 14, consisted of a variety of speeches such as, poster sessions, group sessions, symposiums, professor meetings, etc. in several places. There were not only basic research presentations but also many clinical research presentations, and not only researchers but also many clinical and medical doctors participated.
　　　The theme in which I mainly participated was the session about basic research on autoimmune diseases: rheumatoid arthritis, Sjögren's syndrome, etc. Especially this year, many people gave presentations about Regulatory T Cells which help to maintain immune-response. Studies using mouse models have shown that dysfunction of regulatory T cells is involved in developing autoimmune disorders. However, there are still uncertainties in terms of the pathological role in autoimmune diseases of regulatory T cells because there is not enough information from experimental human studies. There were so many reports, which were based on experimental human studies, on how the dysfunction of regulatory T cells plays a role in the cause and pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases: we were able to share new knowledge prior to my presentation. I tried to ask questions during the presentation session and I was able to have a rewarding time with researchers from abroad.
　　　I gave a presentation on Sjögren's syndrome pathogenesis in The Concurrent Abstract Poster Sessions. Debating with foreign researchers helped me to observe the content of my research again from different point of view. Moreover, new media to resolve problems and different questions were proposed.
　　　Participation in this conference made me learn how important it is to have a discussion with a third party. Also, I was able to discuss the possibility of collaborative research through meeting with other researchers. I would like to make the best use of this experience for my research in future and to make all possible efforts each day to give a presentation in an international conference again.

（Report on Studying Abroad Operation）

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