Pharmacy: A World Where You Too Can "Join the Fight"

In my early childhood, I was an ordinary kid with average grades and sports skills. I didn't have any hobbies I was particularly immersed in. I was somewhat good at math, but even then, my grades weren't outstanding at all, and I struggled with studying. My family moved around a lot for work, and until I entered Keio Shonan Fujisawa Junior High School, I spent my time moving between Europe and the United States, but I wasn't particularly skilled in languages like English. Having not studied much, my turning point came in high school with the chemistry classes taught by Mr. Hiroshi Torii. His lessons were very easy to understand, and I liked organic chemistry because it felt like solving a puzzle. Around that time, I began to take an interest in the Faculty of Pharmacy where I could study chemistry, and I learned about the profession of a pharmacist, who is responsible for people's lives in medical settings. From the time I entered the Keio University Faculty of Pharmacy until I was assigned to a laboratory, I wanted to become a pharmacist.

For my laboratory assignment, I joined the Division of Clinical Pharmacokinetics led by Professor Hisakazu Ohtani (currently Director of the Department of Pharmacy at Keio University Hospital and Professor of the Division of Clinical Pharmacokinetics at the Faculty of Pharmacy), which became the turning point that directed me toward a research career. Pharmacokinetics is a field of study focused on "how drugs move within the human body," and it plays a very important role in drug development and the work of pharmacists in medical settings. Each drug follows its own unique "journey" within the body, but that process cannot be seen directly with the eyes. As I studied pharmacokinetics in this course, I began to feel a sense of romance in deciphering the movement of drugs in the body and imagining that invisible journey. The warm atmosphere of the laboratory also provided support, and my desire to deepen my knowledge of this field further rather than getting a job grew stronger, leading me to decide to enter the Doctoral Programs. Even after entering graduate school, I hesitated about my career path for a while, but I ultimately decided to compete as a researcher because I wanted to continue pursuing the romance of unraveling the story of a drug's journey within the body.

  When I was a graduate student, I wanted to conduct research with Professor Yuichi Sugiyama, a world authority in my research field, and I contacted him. He replied that he was planning to set up a laboratory at ShanghaiTech University and could hire me there... Of course, I immediately replied, "I'll go." I moved to Shanghai, China, and began preparing to open the laboratory, but at that time, Shanghai was just coming out of a lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Even so, I felt a strong sense of excitement about experiencing life in China for the first time and being able to research with Professor Sugiyama, so there was nothing particularly difficult. At the time, I thought of the United States when it came to biotech, and I hadn't realized there was a city where biotech was growing so much right next to Japan. With strong support from the Chinese government, the growth of Shanghai was astonishing.

  The reason I knocked on Professor Sugiyama's door and went to Shanghai was to learn kinetic analysis using mathematical models via computer. Afterward, I returned to the Keio University Faculty of Pharmacy and took up a position in the Division of Pharmaceutics. Research in this laboratory focuses on the placenta. By fusing the experiments using cells and human placentas that have been conducted in the Division of Pharmaceutics with kinetic analysis using mathematical models, I am developing research to predict the extent to which drugs transfer from the mother to the fetus. Analysis using mathematical models is now essential for improving the efficiency of drug development and supporting decision-making. Pharmacokinetics can contribute to such aspects of drug discovery, and I believe it can also contribute to pharmacists who handle pharmaceuticals in clinical settings by providing evidence.

The field of pharmacokinetics, or pharmacy in general, is like the mixed martial arts of science. You can approach pharmacy from diverse perspectives such as chemistry, biology, physics, and mathematics. Saying this might make it seem like you have to be good at every subject, but I myself am not particularly good at biology, math, or programming. There are no paper tests in research, so I continue my research while taking the time to study what I feel is necessary to "follow the invisible journey of medicine" or what I feel is necessary to further contribute to drug discovery and healthcare. The world of pharmacy has a broad base, and anyone who jumps in will surely find a theme that interests them. I look forward to your "participation"!