It's okay not to have it all figured out, it's okay to be unsure. Taking on challenges opens up the future and brings you closer to the person you want to be.

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Graduated from Kanagawa Prefectural Kibogaoka High School

A huge basketball fan, she was passionate about the sport in junior high and even chose her high school with club activities in mind. Now, while diligently conducting research on genetic circuits in graduate school, she spends her days coaching basketball to junior high school students as a club instructor. As a master's student, she continues to take on challenges, such as being selected as a finalist at the first international conference she attended. We asked her to share what she has built during her university life and the future she aims for.

[*] Academic year at the time of the interview (August 2022).

I wanted to continue playing basketball, which I started seriously in junior high, so I joined the Basketball Team and dedicated my days to club activities. It was quite tough to balance with my studies, as I had to wake up at 4 or 5 a.m. for morning practice every day, regardless of weekends or before regular exams. However, my high school had a culture that allowed for freedom in uniforms and hairstyles while also emphasizing academics, so I made sure not to neglect my studies, for instance by starting to study well in advance of exams. Analyzing myself, I think I'm more of a steady, cumulative type rather than someone who performs best under pressure, so that study method came naturally to me. I also attended Juku at the time, and believing that quantity was more important than quality in studying, I often used my commute time to memorize things or sacrificed sleep for study time.

The deciding factor was definitely the Gakumon System [*]. I was good at science subjects and knew I wanted to pursue a science track, but I hadn't narrowed down which specific field I wanted to go into. At many other universities, your department for all four years is decided upon admission, and I was worried it would be tough if I later found it wasn't a good fit for me. Amid that anxiety, the Gakumon System, which allows you to decide on your department after studying for about a year at the university, was very appealing. When I enrolled, I chose Gakumon 3 (now Gakumon E) [*], which allowed entry into chemistry-related departments, a field I had a slight interest in during high school.

[*] Gakumon System: A unique system at the Keio University Faculty of Science and Technology where students choose one of five "Gakumon" (academic fields) at the time of the entrance examination. After enrolling, they gradually narrow down their desired field of study based on their interests and concerns, and decide on their department when advancing to their second year. Note that the Gakumon System was changed for students entering the Faculty of Science and Technology from the 2020 academic year, and the departments accessible from each Gakumon have partially changed. Please refer to the link below for details on the Gakumon System.

[*] Gakumon 3: A "Gakumon" that allowed students to advance to one of four departments: the Department of Applied Chemistry, the Department of Applied Physics and Physico-Informatics, the Department of Chemistry, or the Department of Biosciences and Informatics. The names and composition of each Gakumon have been changed for students entering from the 2020 academic year.

My future career path and direction were not yet fully decided, and I didn't have a particularly strong will or commitment to chemistry, so I wanted to enter a department where I could learn about as broad a range of fields as possible. Also, as I took classes during my first year, I found myself drawn to subjects other than chemistry. I believe I was able to make the most of the Gakumon System in my final department choice.

I think one of its features is that it's a department where you can study various fields. The Department of Applied Physics and Physico-Informatics is mainly divided into three fields: information measurement and information control, quantum and information physics, and emergent condensed matter science, so the range of what you can learn is truly broad. While that means you have to study many different things, which can be tough, I think it has the advantage of allowing you to discover fields that interest you. Moreover, because you can touch upon and learn about multiple fields, you can compare and contrast them, which I believe enables you to move forward with your preferences and career path with a solid basis.

Having my paper accepted at an international conference is a strong memory. In my lab, many people participate in conferences, and I think almost everyone at the master's level or above has experienced submitting a paper to a conference. This situation is possible because there's an environment that encourages challenges, including the stance of my supervising professor, Associate Professor Hori. I also submitted a paper to a control systems conference for the first time after becoming a master's student and had the valuable experience of being selected for the "Young Author's Award," which is given to young researchers under 35. I felt pressure about giving a speech in English, but I was very happy that my research was recognized with such a prestigious award given to only one person.

Until my third year of undergraduate studies, I was part of a basketball club outside the university. It was a club with students from multiple universities, and it was stimulating because many people had the same level of passion as me, wanting to "play basketball seriously." At our busiest, we would book a gym and practice two to three times a week. A great thing about joining an external club was building relationships with a diverse group of members from different universities and living environments. I feel my perspective broadened through meeting people I wouldn't have been able to connect with just at my own university. Also, thanks to a connection with my junior high school coach, I am now teaching basketball to junior high students as a club activity instructor at a school in Yokohama. I was initially hesitant, wondering if I could balance it with my research, but I thought it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and jumped right in. To be coaching a club alongside my former teacher—I feel I'm gaining a very valuable experience.

I am currently working on research into genetic circuits. The Hori Laboratory is a control engineering lab, and the subjects of our control are biological systems like cells and genes. Within that, my research explores ways to control the reactions of genes within cells. Genes inside cells have functions like synthesizing proteins, and this protein synthesis can be controlled by modifying the genes. There are several control methods, and the one I've adopted for my research is a control method using a decoy. Inside the cell, there are factors involved in initiating transcription, and when they bind to a gene, transcription starts, and proteins are synthesized. By arranging a decoy during this binding process to prevent the transcription factors from attaching to the gene, we can regulate the amount of protein synthesized. My research focuses on the applications of what can be done with this control method, so I create mathematical models and write code with programming to run simulations using those models. If it can be applied, it's not just a dream to be able to skillfully control the functions of microorganisms to efficiently synthesize rare substances, or in the medical field, to build molecular robots that execute drug delivery systems to deliver drugs to affected areas in the body. It's a research field that has become active in the last 10 years or so, and while it's still in the basic research stage, I believe it's a field with immense potential.

I chose the Department of Applied Physics and Physico-Informatics because I could study a wide range of fields and deepen my interests, but actually, what I had been interested in for a long time was "biology." Amidst that, although I chose Gakumon 3 at university and advanced to the Department of Applied Physics and Physico-Informatics, I guess the desire to "do biology" remained somewhere in the back of my mind. When it came time to choose a lab, I considered labs where I could do research close to biology, such as on cells and microorganisms, even if I wouldn't be handling living creatures directly. Moreover, I also found it interesting to apply the concepts of control engineering to biological reactions, so in the end, I chose a lab that matched my interests and passions.

I'm thinking about employment and am currently participating in internships at several companies. I haven't narrowed down a specific direction yet, but I'd like to find a job where I can apply what I've done in my research if possible. In terms of my personality, I think a job in research or development would suit me better than a sales position, so I hope to find a job like that. However, my ideal environment is one where I can work as part of a team, like in basketball, rather than working alone.