[No. 130] Kaname Sasaki

I would like to express my gratitude to the faculty members involved for inviting me to contribute to this Keio University alumni column. I am currently a university faculty member at the Faculty of Science, Toho University. When I think of my seniors and peers from my student days, they are all remarkably successful. I believe the reason this opportunity to write has come to me is to share a career path that was not always smooth, so please allow me to recount my winding journey.

When I graduated from high school, the Faculty of Science and Technology at Keio University was neither my first choice of university nor my first choice of faculty. I applied to and was accepted into Category 3 (chemistry-related fields) for the rather passive reason that chemistry was the subject I liked most and scored best in among those I studied in high school. Looking back, it was disrespectful, and I believe my career research in high school was insufficient. However, it turned out that I would become completely captivated by the charm of chemistry, which continues to this day.

While studying for university entrance exams, I couldn't stand studying so-called humanities subjects like history, geography, and Japanese. However, once I entered university, I eagerly took courses in linguistics, economics, and foreign languages during my first and second years. Freed from the stress of studying "for the exams," I found, to my surprise, that every field of study was fascinating and felt that it was truly becoming a part of me. For me, who had the time but not the money to go out and have fun, the lectures by the professors, who showed me new worlds every day, were the best form of entertainment. I particularly focused on German, taking three or four classes a week to study it. (If I had known I would later be working in France, I would have studied French.)

By the time I was choosing a laboratory to join in my fourth year of undergraduate studies, my interest had solidified in organic chemistry, and I was beginning to envision myself as a corporate researcher. At the same time, words like "double major" and "interdisciplinary" were becoming buzzwords. For this reason, I felt I needed to acquire knowledge in fields related to organic chemistry. This led me to knock on the door of Professor Kazunobu Toshima's laboratory (Molecular and Life Chemistry), which was renowned in the field of chemical biology. In reality, however, I was so preoccupied with learning organic chemistry that I never conducted any biological experiments myself, and my research focused on carbohydrate synthesis chemistry. Nevertheless, the discussions on biochemistry and biological reactions I heard in seminars and at the joint progress report meetings with Professor Shuichi Matsumura's laboratory (Biofunctional Molecular Chemistry) have served as a starting point for my studies and have helped me countless times, even now, more than a decade later.

There was a wealth of grant-based scholarships available both on and off campus, and after advancing to graduate school, I was able to cover all my living expenses and tuition with scholarships. It was truly fortunate that I could finish my student years with zero debt. As I will mention later, I was unemployed for a while and wandered abroad, and if the burden of scholarship repayment had been added to that, I think I would have been unable to make ends meet. I believe this is one of the strengths of Keio University: the support, both visible and invisible, from society, including its Keio University alumni, who place their hopes in us.

I continued in the Toshima laboratory through the Doctoral Programs and had received a job offer as a process chemist at a foreign pharmaceutical company. However, I was unable to obtain my degree by the company's deadline, so the offer was rescinded, and I was on the verge of being left adrift. While pondering my next move, I contacted Professor David Crich, one of the superstars in the field of carbohydrate synthesis chemistry, and he agreed to let me join his research team. I was thrilled at the prospect of conducting research with Professor Crich, of whom I had become a fan through his papers during my student days, even though I had never met him. I went to study at Wayne State University in Michigan, USA, where I began to work on peptide research. Beyond the research itself, I found life in the lab fascinating—the students who, despite being younger, would freely engage in discussions, and Professor Crich, who spoke about chemistry with such enjoyment. I ended up extending my initial stay. Furthermore, when Professor Crich was appointed as the Director of the Institut de Chimie des Substances Naturelles (ICSN-CNRS) in France, he asked me, "Won't you come with me?" I was so happy that I immediately agreed, moved to France, and continued my research under him for another two years.

Job hunting in Japan while living abroad was difficult, but I and my friends who were also job hunting at the time encouraged each other, saying, "We won't give up until we've sent out 100 applications!" as we wrote and mailed our resumes and research proposals. Thanks to those efforts, I am now a university faculty member at the Faculty of Science, Toho University. Toho University has a low student-to-faculty ratio and a welcoming, at-home atmosphere, which I believe attracts sincere and enthusiastic students. My laboratory, in particular, draws excellent students each year, and our research on carbohydrates and peptides is progressing steadily. It has been nearly 10 years since I obtained my Ph.D., but it has only been three years since I returned to Japan and started working properly. Although my career is by no means something to be proud of, I have finally obtained an environment where I can conduct research based on my own ideas. I intend to make the most of my experiences from my university days and my time wandering abroad to contribute to the scientific community and, by extension, to society.