[No. 234] Itsuki Anzai

I am very honored to have this opportunity to contribute to the Juku-in Raio column. After graduating from the Department of Chemistry in the Faculty of Science and Technology, I continued on to the Doctoral Programs and obtained my PhD. Currently, I am conducting research on viruses at the Research Institute for Microbial Diseases at Osaka University.

Looking back on my life so far, I realize that I made many casual or haphazard choices. Even so, the reason my student life didn't end up full of regrets is thanks to Keio University. I would be happy if I could convey even a little bit to prospective and current students that Keio University is a great place!

The catalyst that made me consider a career in the sciences was robot anime. Since elementary school, I loved looking at car engines and large machine tools operating in factories. Watching a certain anime about mobile suits fighting made me want to build robots like that in the future, which was my reason for choosing the science track.

While I was interested in physics and mechanical engineering, a turning point came when I was in high school. I saw a movie version of an anime where boys and girls fight inside certain "multipurpose humanoid decisive weapons." The world-view where biotechnology and robots fused together instantly pulled my interest toward bioengineering. I believe it was at this moment that the axis of my research field was set on life sciences.

You might think, "What is this guy talking about?" after I said "Keio University is a great place!" at the beginning, but when I was taking university entrance exams, I had no intention of going to Keio at all. In fact, at first, I only intended to apply to a certain national university that was my first choice and W University; I hadn't even prepared an application for Keio. However, those around me wouldn't allow that, so I reluctantly prepared the application. I didn't understand the "Gakumon" (administrative group) system of the Faculty of Science and Technology at all, so I just chose Gakumon 3 because I was born in March.

When the entrance exams were over, I failed the national university and W University, and only managed to get onto the waiting list for Keio Science and Technology. I was about to head to Kawaijuku to sign up for a gap year, but due to strong opposition from those around me, I ended up enrolling in the Faculty of Science and Technology at Keio University.

At first, I couldn't find value in university life and skipped classes quite often, quickly facing the risk of repeating a year. The catalyst for breaking out of this situation was the department selection. The departments I could choose from Gakumon 3 at the time were the Department of Applied Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Department of Biosciences and Informatics, and Department of Applied Physics and Physico-Informatics—a perfect lineup for someone interested in bioengineering and life sciences. When I looked up the laboratories of each department before the orientation, I found the phrase "Biophysics" in the introduction for Professor Yoshiaki Furukawa's lab, who had just started at the Department of Chemistry in 2010. I couldn't help but feel it was fate that a lab with keywords that attracted me was established the same year I entered. I headed to the Yagami Campus with excitement, but because I spent too much time accompanying a friend who wanted to join the Department of Applied Chemistry, Professor Furukawa had already gone home by the time I reached his lab. Only one B4 senior was left alone in the lab. I felt a bit disappointed, but the glowing E. coli the senior showed me made me feel the potential of biotechnology, and I decided to proceed to the Department of Chemistry as originally planned.

化学科は1学年40名程度の学生に対して教員が20名と、非常に少人数かつ教員との距離が非常に近い学科です。楽しい友人たちと親身な教員に囲まれた環境は、私に慶應義塾で良かったと感じさせてくれた（& 留年の危機を回避させてくれた）最大の要因であることは間違いありません。そんな化学科の居心地の良さを感じながら、なんとか進級に必要な単位を取得し、古川研究室（生命機構化学研究室）に配属されました。

研究室配属後は、ひたすら研究に打ち込んでいました。私は、神経変性疾患に見られるタンパク質の異常な構造変化を分子レベルで明らかにするという研究に従事しており、物理も生物も好きな私にとっては最高の大学院生活でした。もちろん研究だけではなく、学会発表や学科の懇親会等、様々なイベントが充実しており、今思えば、人生で一番楽しい時期だったのではないかと感じています。

そんな充実した生活を過ごし、気づけばあっという間に博士課程の最終学年になると、博士号取得のための公聴会に備えなければいけません。古川先生に叱咤激励されながら博士論文と公聴会発表の準備をした期間は、研究者人生としての礎になる経験だったと思います。幸いにも修了要件は早めに満たしていたため、比較的気持ち穏やかに博士論文の作成を進めることができ、無事に公聴会も終了し、学位も取得できました。

博士課程修了後、最初は企業への就職を考えていたため、博士課程2年時に研究職を中心に就職活動を行っていましたが、数社面接を受けたあたりで、「なんか違うな」と感じ、アカデミアに残ると腹を括っていました。そのため、学位取得後しばらく学術振興会の特別研究員として慶應に残り、次の行き先を探していたところ、現在の大阪大学微生物病研究所の分子ウイルス学分野での公募を見つけて応募、無事に採用されました。

大阪大学に着任した当初（2019年8月）は、まだ新型コロナウイルスの発生前でしたので、ウイルスは今ほど注目される分野ではありませんでした。私も正直、「ウイルスはタンパク質の超集合体だから今研究しているスケールよりも大きいしなんか楽しそう」くらいの軽い気持ちで応募したので、まさか着任してから数ヶ月後にここまでホットな研究分野になるとは全く想像もしていませんでした。研究に興味がある方は、ぜひラボのホームページを御覧ください（ https://watanabe-lab.biken.osaka-u.ac.jp ）。

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《 前の記事　　［第233回］大出　真央（大阪大学 蛋白質研究所 助教）

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