[No. 191] Hiroyuki Uwamori

I am currently a postdoctoral researcher at the RIKEN Center for Brain Science, where I study the brain, particularly perception. How do we humans and animals perceive and understand various stimuli and objects from the outside world? By what operating principles and signal exchanges does the brain, a complex system composed of a vast number of neurons, establish perception? To answer these questions, I conduct daily experiments to acquire and analyze data, deepening our knowledge by utilizing various techniques. These include methods for making neurons light up in response to activity, microscopic observation techniques to see deep into the brain and capture the activity of numerous neurons, and technologies to manipulate neural activity with light.

On my way to and from elementary school, I remember suddenly wondering, "Is the world I see the same as the world my friends see?" And then I wondered, "How can I know if the world I see and the world my friends see are the same?" Even if everyone says a mailbox is "red," the word "red" and the color in everyone's mind are not necessarily identical. As I grew older, this question from my elementary school days led me to realize, "Ah, so it's our brain that allows us to perceive the world." This made me want to learn more about the brain. These are my roots.

My motivation for choosing the Faculty of Science and Technology was its wide range of academic fields. When I entered university, I didn't have a strong desire to pursue brain research in the future. Rather, I wanted to keep my future options open by studying various disciplines, regardless of the path I would eventually take. At the Keio University Faculty of Science and Technology, after learning foundational subjects like mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology, you can take courses and acquire more specialized knowledge and skills in areas such as mechanical engineering, control theory, signal processing, cell biology, fluid dynamics, programming, and statistics. By being exposed to such a variety of disciplines, I spent my student life vaguely thinking about what I truly loved and what I wanted to make my core focus.

In the Faculty of Science and Technology, students are assigned to a laboratory in their fourth year. In my case, I started with research on the in-vitro regeneration of capillary networks under the guidance of Professor Ryo Sudo of the Department of System Design Engineering. Upon entering graduate school, I launched a new research theme: the regeneration of micro-brain tissue by combining neural stem cells and vascular regeneration. The first time I presented these research findings at an international conference was in Boston, Massachusetts. This led to an opportunity for a short-term training period in the lab of Dr. Ken Arai at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital when I advanced to the Doctoral Programs. The connection was made after Professor Sudo introduced me to Dr. Arai, who was then an associate professor at Harvard Medical School, researching neuro-vascular interactions.

For this trip, I was selected for the Doctoral Student Grant-in-Aid Program, which supports doctoral students in receiving direct guidance from professors at renowned overseas universities as co-supervisors. I also actively utilized scholarship systems to cover my travel expenses. As a result, I received direct instruction on experimental techniques in the lab of Dr. Arai, who has produced numerous research achievements in the field, which greatly advanced my own research. Thanks to such support programs and scholarship systems within the university, I had the invaluable experience of studying at one of the world's top-class research institutions.

Generally, Ph.D. holders consider two career paths: industry (companies) or academia (universities and research institutions). This was the most difficult choice I have ever made in my life. Although not always the case, relatively speaking, I believe industry has a stronger element of teamwork, while research has a stronger element of individual play. When I reflected on myself, I realized I have a strong disposition for immersing myself in something quietly at my own pace and thinking deeply about things that interest me. Consequently, I am now on the academic path. And while my research as a student was in the field of regenerative medicine, I took the plunge and changed fields. I am now re-studying from scratch and conducting research in the field of neuroscience.

I imagine that this "Keio University alumni Relay" is read by a wide variety of people, but I believe many of the messages are primarily aimed at prospective students aspiring to enter the Faculty of Science and Technology. What I want to say in closing is this: I hope you will use your exposure to various academic fields as material to think about what you want to make your core focus and what you want to live for in the future. I believe that keeping your options open will lead you to discover various possibilities. I sincerely hope that you will have a fulfilling university life, striving together with the friends you meet at university.