Disclaimer: machine translated by DeepL which may contain errors.
After completing a Master's degree in Department of Chemistry (now Department of Biological Sciences), Graduate School of Science, I joined the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), where I was involved in the Division of Management of R&D for international joint research and large-scale research projects, and was also transferred to the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED).
Looking back, when I was in junior high school, I learned that the blueprints of living organisms were made by combining only four types of base pairs. I entered the Department of Biophysics and Biochemistry in the Faculty of Science because I wanted to deepen my knowledge of life phenomena occurring in the unseen world.
It was interesting to learn about microscopic life phenomena, but after a while, I began to think that I would prefer to learn about more visible phenomena, so I joined a laboratory that studied molecular behavioral genetics using the nematode C. elegans.
Once in the lab, I began to have my own research theme, and instead of using textbooks, I spent many days reading various papers, participating in study groups, and discussing the results of experiments. While I enjoyed conducting experiments and discussing the results, I found that I preferred reading and hearing about new discoveries made by others rather than discovering new things on my own. At the same time, I began to develop an even stronger respect for researchers who can take on the challenge of making new discoveries with all their might.
After these realizations, I decided to find a job after graduating from the master's program because it did not seem that I was suited for a life as a researcher. However, even though I was interested in this and that, I did not have a specific goal in mind, so I was troubled about my career path. After much deliberation, I decided that even if I could not become a researcher, it would be fun to learn about new scientific discoveries quickly and to help create such discoveries, so I joined the JST.
Some of the business cards I have received so far. Opportunities to meet a variety of peopleThe JST promotes research and development in a variety of fields, but I am often involved in work related to the life science field, perhaps because of my expertise. Even so, the world I am involved in is much wider than when I was looking through a microscope at nematodes, and the first project I worked on was a sericultural research project in Kenya. I was also exposed to research on infectious diseases, diabetes, AI robots, quantum computers, and other fields that I had never thought of when I was a student. We have also promoted collaboration among researchers in Japan and overseas by holding joint workshops with overseas research institutions. When new discoveries are made through such joint research, I realize that there are things I can do for the development of science even if I do not actually do the research myself.
I believe that those who choose to study in the Faculty of Science have a desire to explore the unknown, to "know why things are the way they are. There are two paths: one is to figure it out on one's own, and the other is to accompany someone else who is trying to figure it out. I would be happy if the path I have chosen can serve as an example of the latter.