[No. 85] Ken Omori

I am currently a faculty member at the Tokyo Institute of Technology. With Ookayama and Hiyoshi connected by a single train line, I constantly feel the presence of Keio University. As I write this article, I find myself reminiscing about some fond old memories.

Uncharacteristically for me, I diligently earned good grades in high school and was ultimately able to enter Keio University through a recommendation. It was a surprising system where, if your school report was accepted, there was no interview. It was only later that I learned my academic performance would be tracked...

I was enrolled in Department III (Chemistry) of the Faculty of Science and Technology. However, for the first two years, I spent my time at the Hiyoshi Campus with students from other faculties, so I wasn't particularly conscious of being a "science person" during that time. I met many different people and had a wonderful time. I realized that university (especially at Keio?) is an incredibly free place where, if you have the will, you can pave a path to anything. On the other hand, I also felt the pressure of having to find my own path.

After enrolling, I joined a tennis club and spent my days carefree until my graduation research began in my fourth year. I also actively worked part-time jobs. However, tutoring wasn't my cup of tea, so I devoted myself to all-night, blue-collar jobs. Thanks to that, I was able to buy my own beloved car a year later.

After passing through the Hiyoshi Campus, going down into a valley, and climbing a little again, the Yagami Campus appears. Compared to the glamorous Hiyoshi Campus, it has a calmer (?) atmosphere, and at first, I was bewildered by the gap (a sense of alienation?). However, once I was there, I felt that this kind of environment was actually a better fit for me.

In my third year, the specialization of the classes increased dramatically, and it was no longer possible to handle them casually (?) as before. However, this gave me the opportunity to discover the depth of chemistry, and I was suddenly drawn to its appeal.

I must confess, I actually disliked chemistry in high school. This was because there were frequent calculations with many decimal places and a lot of things to memorize for no apparent reason (though there were reasons, of course). I think the lack of experiments in class was also a contributing factor.

So why did I throw myself into the world of chemistry? The truth is, I had a special interest in organic chemistry. I still remember the excitement I felt when I first encountered it. It governs the very basis of life phenomena, where small molecules precisely control the functions of giant molecules. Is such a thing really possible? ...My curiosity was endless. Unfortunately, I was only able to study a little bit of organic chemistry in high school, so I was eager to study it in detail once I got to university. It may sound like an excuse, but the chemistry classes in university, not just organic chemistry, were all very fresh and interesting. What I learned during this period has been of great help in my subsequent research and teaching.

It was mid-February, near the end of my third year, when I knocked on the door of the laboratory (Natural Product Chemistry) of my mentor, Professor Shosuke Yamamura. The day I visited was a Saturday, but all the senior students were busy moving around the lab. This lab was famous for its research on "unraveling the mystery of why the sensitive plant moves, from a chemical perspective," but other projects, such as the isolation and synthesis of complex natural products, were also being pursued with unique approaches.

At the time, research was being conducted by a powerful team led by Professor Shosuke Yamamura, supported by Dr. Yoshikazu Shizuri (Associate Professor) and Dr. Shigeru Nishiyama (Senior Assistant Professor). They were like the Komon, Suke-san, and Kaku-san of the natural product chemistry world, so to speak.

To my surprise, when I visited, my research theme had already been decided, and my experiments began that very day (even though it was a Saturday...). The theme was the synthetic study of a macrolide (bryostatin) derived from a marine organism. It was clearly a "big one," and it was obvious even to a layman that it would not be an easy task.

It was Takayuki Suzuki (then a second-year master's student) who taught me numerous experimental techniques and know-how in the lab. He was my mentor. Unfortunately, he passed away early due to illness, but I have deeply engraved his teachings in my heart and still follow them faithfully today.

In the end, carried away by the momentum, I went on to the master's and doctoral programs, spending the next five years in this lab. During that time, I was able to learn many things (of course). As for the synthesis of the "big one," although I made good progress, I was ultimately unable to complete it (later, my super-talented junior colleagues, Tetsuo Kobitsu and Yasuyuki Ogawa, successfully completed it).

So, although I feel like I received my doctorate almost as a bonus, I was very fortunate that Professor Keisuke Suzuki, who was running the lab in the next room at the time, offered me a position as a research associate (in his lab). Then, together with Professor Suzuki and Dr. Takashi Matsumoto, who was a research associate in that lab at the time, I moved to Tokyo Tech and we launched a new laboratory.

Since then, I have remained at Ookayama for 15 years, but strangely, my love for Keio University has grown with each passing year. Coincidentally, this year, the 20th anniversary party for the undergraduate graduation of the 7th class of the Department of Chemistry was held at Keio's Hiyoshi Campus. Everyone was doing well and thriving in their respective fields, and seeing that filled me with energy. I have never felt the importance of the connection with my classmates more than at that moment. I am by no means a "Keio Boy," but it seems that the blood of a Keio University alumni runs through my veins after all.