Message from NIG-INTERN 2013

The 7th Summer Research Program for Undergraduates, NIG-INTERN 2013, was carried out from May to September.
9 selected participants enjoyed 10 weeks research internship program at their host laboratories.

Members

Shermaine Hui Ping TAY
From:National University of Singapore
Stayed at:Division of Molecular and Developmental Biology / Kawakami Group
Under the guidance of Professor Kawakami, graduate student Pradeep and post doctorate Tanabe-san, my project studied the involvement of dorsomedial telencephalic pallium of zebrafish’s brain in emotional learning and memory. Using a 50 min active avoidance response assay that I have developed, I tested with varies Gal4 transgenic lines carrying defects in the dorsomedial telencephalic pallium due to genetic ablation by neurotoxin (Botulinum toxin B). And from my studies, I was able to prove that defects in subpopulations of neurons localized in this specific brain region indeed leads to defect in acquisition of fear memory.
Coming from a laboratory that is constantly noisy in Singapore, the switch to a quiet working environment in a Japanese laboratory was probably one of the most difficult things to bear initially. However, this awkwardness was soon overcome by the warmness of my colleagues. During work time, no matter how busy they may seem, they never fail to offer their help with a cheerful smile. During off working hours, they revealed personalities that are almost splitting images of their quiet selves in laboratory. They are bubbly and friendly, always offering to bring me around to sightsee and eat Japanese delicacies. They laughed heartily at jokes which make you forget all the stress accumulated at work. They are simply lovely company to be with.
Aside from life in laboratory, the 2.5 month of stay in Mishima was definitely one of the most memorable moments of my life. And why do I say so? This is because I have experienced many of my first times here. While being in Japan was not my first time, it was my first time traveling all alone, my first time seeing Mt Fuji with my own eyes, my first time picking tea leaves dressed in a traditional yukata, my first time puking twice despite only taken four rides at Fuji Q-highland, my first time eating piping hot black eggs on the top of a volcanic mountain in Hakone, my first time seeing fireflies, my first time waking up in the midnight and realizing that I had being sleeping alongside with a 8cm long centipede tickling me all the while, my first time making so many Japanese and international friends, my first time whipping up an edible dish, my first time being scolded for walking and eating at the same time, my first time seeing a country in which its people are so proud of their culture that you never fail to hear them practicing every night for the summer festival more than a month before the actual event and my first time feeling extremely unwilling to part from a place and its people.
Parting was the saddest moment and it ended with a blast with all the co-interns and graduate students gathering at Atami for the fireworks display. Seeing the magnificent colors peppering the clear night skyline, it was as if there was some hidden message trying to reach out to us: Hope you have enjoyed your stay in Japan! I definitely did so.
Also unforgettable were the moments when my sensei and friends bided me farewell and inspired me with their advices. I was especially touched by the kind words of cafeteria obaachan, Yamaguchi-san. Even though I was not able to fully comprehend the entire conversation in Japanese, I understood that she wanted me to be brave and go forth to venture in this world. In her words: “世界でお世話になりました”, she believed that the world had taken good care of her children that had been staying overseas for long period of time and she believes that it would do so for me too. I would cherish those words and all those precious moments I have spent in Mishima as well as in NIG. I would miss this wonderful place along with all its beautiful memories.
Rohan WISHARD
From:Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee
Stayed at:Division of Microbial Genetics / Araki Group
Summer internship at NIG as a NIGINTERN 2013 was a fabulous experience for me in every sense. I was so rejoiced to read the e-mail from the NIG Education Team in early February 2013, informing me of my selection as a NIGINTERN 2013 and inviting me for the 10 week summer internship at NIG. But then soon the race began. I had to arrange for my visa, fix th internship dates such that they are in accordance with my course (M Sc Biotech II year, IIT R) here in India and had to prepare in general for travelling to Japan. But the education team members at NIG were so helpful throughout the period of completion of all these formalities. They would respond to my queries sent in by e-mail so promptly. Also, the ticketing company and agent assigned the job of booking my tickets were so helpful and would respond to my doubts so quickly. Right from the dispatch of the visa-necessary documents to, through the grant of visa, down to my actual arrival at NIG, the education team was so efficient. They prepared detailed files for me on how to reach NIG from Narita Airport, which ensured that I had no problems what so ever in travelling to NIG. Then, as I arrived, work began soon, next morning itself. I was put under Hizume San in Araki Sensei’s lab for the internship. This was the first time that I experienced the working atmosphere and the level, methodology and efficiency of research at a world class research institute like NIG. Day after day as I worked, I learnt new things, I learnt “what is scientific research”, I learnt about “problem solving in laborious lab protocols”, I learnt how to present my research results, how to deal with negative results, ho to take opinions of other more experienced researchers to solve one’s own research problems. Entire Araki lab, especially Araki sensei and Hizume San were so helpful and supportive. We enjoyed several light talks during the lunch breaks as we ate at the cafeteria. During weekends I would move at my own pace and relax. In all, NIGINTERN 2013 has so far been the most eye opening, and educating experience(from the point of view of research) for me. I enjoyed my time with the other interns. I did all that I had always wanted to do……… I really wanna thank NIG from the bottom of my heart for this opportunity.
Ramasamy KANDASAMY
From:Indian Institute of Technology Madras
Stayed at:Mammalian Development Laboratory / Saga Group
Through the NIGINTERN 2013 program I had experience working in a world class laboratory. It was a golden opportunity to learn a lot of things. I did my internship under Saga sensei in Mammalian Development Laboratory. It was the first time I handled mice. In my project I analysed mRNA and protein expression in Cyp26b1 conditional knockout mice. I did immuno-histochemistry and qRT PCR. I learnt to fix, stain and image sections of tissue. I also did a novel experiment (Bi-fluorescence Complimentation Assay) to study interaction between two proteins. I learnt many other things like cell culture and imaging using confocal microscope. The lab members were very kind and helpful. One advantage of laboratories of NIG was that there were more number of post docs and professors than the number of students. Thus there were a lot of experienced people to guide me. Besides experiments we also regularly had lab journal clubs and progress meets which helped me to know the work of other lab members. My lab also gave me the opportunity to attend conference conducted by Japanese Society for Developmental Biologists. Through the conference I was exposed to thecurrent research topics in developmental biology. The lab visits arranged by NIG was veryuseful. It helped me to know about the research going on in other labs of NIG.
Besides work Mishima is a wonderful place to stay. Mishima has the serenity and beauty of country side and at the same time it has all the facilities of a modern city. During my stay I enjoyed fireworks festival at Atami. I enjoyed roaming around Mishima. I alsoenjoyed the Japanese class by Miyauchi sensei. This internship deepened my desire to pursue a research career.
Vylyny CHAT
From:Asian University for Women
Stayed at:Division of Human Genetics / Inoue Group
I can still clearly remember early of the year reading essays about the previous interns’experiences at NIG. That very moment I was extremely excited and I knew I had to grab for this wonderful opportunity as NIGINTERN2013. When I arrived at NIG and started my internship, I had never wished for anything better than this. I, then, realized the experience here was more than what words could capture.
Coming from a multi-disciplinary major, Public Health, I was pretty nervous about my journey as a “researcher”. However, the people here in my lab were all very patient in teaching me. I was first introduced to various research projects going on in the lab. I had the opportunities to learn many new things from great scientists/ graduate students in my hosted lab as well as the labs I visited. Then, I started training in whole-exome sequence analysis of ovarian cancers patients using Linux command lines. Simultaneously, I also did wet lab experiments using Western blot to check the protein expression of PTEN gene. PTEN is a tumor-suppressor gene, which can reverse the PI3K pathway keeping cell proliferation under control. Even though, I could not obtain good results, I found the experience rewarding. I was also involved in another research project going on in the lab which is to check for causal genes of Cowden syndrome in a Japanese family. By using Sanger sequencing, I sequenced the promoter region of PTEN gene in order to look for mutations. The experiences I have received through my lab work have well taught me to understand and appreciate the core value of research despite the great amount of patience and perseverance it requires.
Throughout my internship, I have also learnt to develop a sense of independence in my work, which I do not have much as an undergrad student. Whenever I encountered problems at work, even though I could always seek for help, I usually was given a chance to explore how to tackle problems on my own. I am sure the characteristic and manner I have accumulated interning here will best prepare me for my independent research work as a graduate student in the future.
Besides getting to experience life as a “researcher”, I also enjoyed my summer here immersing myself into the colorful culture of Japan and making lots of friends. I tried various Japanese foods and loved most of them dearly. Through my Japanese class, I was also introduced to Japanese ways of living. Climbing to the top of Mt. Fuji, which was my childhood dream, with my hosted lab family has become an unforgettable memory for a life time. Going to the Disney Sea, Hakone, visiting Tokyo and watching Hanabi with my co-interns were all contributing to making my experiences in Japan an AMAZING one!
Last but not the least, I would like to thank NIGINTERN Committee for arranging this wonderful program. I would strongly recommend this opportunity to anybody out there who is wishing to experience working in a world-class research, to explore the rich culture of Japan, to make friends and to appreciate the diverse cultures of other international interns. I am sure this 70-day journey will make a great impact on the upcoming NIGINTERN’s life as it did on me!
Peter Thomas FERRERO V
From:Idaho State University
Stayed at:Centrosome Biology Laboratory / Kitagawa Group
I was not sure about what to expect as I began this internship. I was excited for a chance to leave my country (USA) and experience another country’s culture. Over the course of the internship I visited the shrines and temples of Kyoto, the mountains, lakes and hot springs of Hakone, the many eclectic districts of Tokyo, the giddy chaos of the Fuji Rock Festival, the gorgeous fireworks of Atami, and braved the climb up Mt. Fuji amongst other unforgettable experiences. Along the way, the Japanese people that I met over here were all so full of smiles as they spoke with me. And though my Japanese speaking ability is extremely limited (it has grown tremendously during these past 10 weeks though, shout out of thanks to Miyauchi-Sensei), the conversations that I had left me with a lasting impression of just how kind the Japanese people are.
One such individual was my professor, Dr. Daiju Kitagawa. During my first day of research at NIG, I finally got the chance to meet him. After getting to know one another, he unveiled my project. I was to work on centrosomes, studying the mechanism they use to duplicate during the cell cycle. Specifically, my focus was on two proteins, PLK4 and STIL, which work together to recruit a third protein, SAS-6, which forms the initial scaffolding during centriole duplication. I used Western Blotting and Immunofluorescence to determine which domains on PLK4 physically interacted with STIL. Being relatively new to biological research (my research back at home falls within the field of Organic Chemistry), I had to be taught from square one. I literally had a crash course on how to use a pipette. Despite being so inexperienced, my entire lab was incredibly supportive of me. I confess, I initially had felt stressed out because I felt inadequate for the task set for me, but Dr. Kitagawa one day sat me down and explained that research is a constant learning process and that he had felt the same way when he was a undergraduate student. In short, he let me know that it was okay to be inexperienced and that meant more to me than anything else. Dr. Kitagawa is the embodiment of the ideal mentor in my mind. He is an admirable man, and I have enjoyed my time getting to know him both on a research and a personal level. Eventually, I procured my result (that in fact two domains on PLK4 interact with STIL in tandem), but more importantly, I have developed a deeper understanding about the day-to-day life of a scientist. Going forward, I am still undecided about what my future career shall be, but becoming a researcher is now a very attractive option to me. For that, I wholeheartedly thank NIG and Dr. Kitagawa.
One other thing I’d like to talk about before signing off: this internship provides an invaluable chance to learn about other cultures besides Japan. Take advantage of it. I have met people from Singapore, Cambodia, India, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and Ecuador. Before this, I have never been placed in such a diverse environment and I’ve truly been lucky to get to know fantastic people from other countries. And thus, NIG has also given me the opportunity to expand my knowledge of the world. Going forward, I wish to continue becoming a more globalized individual and wish to take the things I have learned from other cultures back with me to America. I now look forward to getting to know the exchange students that visit my university every year whereas before I was too shy to say ‘hello’ to them. My time here has shown me that everyone wishes for happiness out of life, no matter what our background, home-country, culture, etc. The only distinction lies within the approaches we take to earn that happiness within our lives. To everyone who has taken part in my experience here in Japan, it has been an honor. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. It has been a true pleasure.
どうもありがとうございます！
Jana PILATOVA
From:Charles University
Stayed at:Symbiosis and Cell Evolution Laboratory / Miyagishima Group
It seems impossible to me to summarize all of my interesting experiences of my wonderful ten-week stay in NIG in a short essay. In the first place I would like to thank a lot for this nice opportunity I was given. I am very grateful for that I could stay and work in NIG as an intern student for 10 awesome weeks which appeared to be too short time to experience Japan in all its glory. It was just a tasting but I gradually fell in love with Japan and all the nice features of life in here. What I found the most catchy? The kindness of Japanese people and the carpe diem life style although they do work very very hard. Therefore thank you NIGINTERN committee and General Affairs/Education Team and others.
I started my work in Miyagishima sensei´s laboratory full of expectations. Hearty welcome of his and other lab members was very friendly and warm. And indeed, they were very helpful and always ready to advise me with anything. I could not wish any better. I felt like a real part of the research team, which is focused on endosymbiosis, regulation of cell cycle and organelle division and on the development of suitable microalgal source for the biofuels production. All of the various topics attempting to resolve the big questions of the life was extremely interesting for me, but I had to choose one to run my own project in here and it was the introduction of a very extensively studied model red microalga Cyanidioschyzon merolae to the field of biofuels production as it seemed very inspiring for my future work.
The thing I was impressed a lot is the beauty of nature in Japan, such as very clear waters of Gembe-gawa River ful of crawfish, crabs and other fish. Flocks of dragonflies are flying among beautiful exotic flowers and if you are lucky (like me) you can see there a kingfisher, the symbol of Mishima. I have seen many animals and plants I cannot meet in my country in the wild. A very interesting although not pleasant was my first meeting with leeches.
I enjoyed my stay in Mishima very much. I was lucky to attend the Mishima Taicha festival in August. Then I wanted to see more places around Japan, I went to Hakone, lake Ashinoko and Owakudani where I revealed the Japanese mystery of long life. Owakudani smelled like rotten eggs (by hydrogen sulfide) on the miles around so I could climb up with my eyes closed only following the smell. Even the volcanic gases are toxic, Hakone hotspirngs are very healthy and it is said that when you eat an egg boiled in the hot spring water, in which it turns black, it will prolonge your life for seven years. Then I travelled to Kyoto. I was totally impressed by the history of ancient cities of Nara and Horyuji – with the oldest and largest wooden temples around the world. I just could not believe my eyes. I climbed Mt Hiei and Mt Kurama nearby Kyoto to feel more deeply how the religious life in Japan went on in the old times. However, it was changed to even more intense experience of the wet stroke of typhoon against which I struggled during all my hiking trip. So I saw the former capital cities to be ready to descover the modern high tech Tokyo. I also went to the outstandingly beautiful cities of Kamakura and Nikko. Then I was so lucky that I could climb Mt Fuji with foreign students and to go on a cruise around Izu peninsula with them on the boat of their nice Japanese landlord.
I cannot forget to mention tasting of Japanese food as it is an indispensable element of Japanese culture with many special features developed during the centuries. I was introduced to it by Miyagishima san and other lab members, who taught me to cook some of them, and even by my nice and kind Japanese teacher Miyauchi sensei teaching me not only Japanese but also how to make makizushi. I loved to make sashimi from fish I caught by myself while fishing with my friends.
What I did not emphasize enough until now is my gratefulness for meeting many nice people in Japan. They are the main reason why I could enjoy my stay there so much.
Yao-Wei JHENG
From:National Taiwan University
Stayed at:Molecular Function Laboratory / Kanemaki Group
What a wonderful program! I can promise. In fact, this is my first time to travel in Japan. As a foreigner compared to Japanese, I worried about a lot of questions. Can I survive here? Is it really tough in Japanese laboratory life and my daily life? Or will I feel alone there? However, all of the questions suddenly disappeared while I entered my lab, Molecular Function Lab. I think that my opinion is consistent to other intern in National institute of Genetics. They were very kind and passionate to me. And all of them are my teachers who helped my project and discussed with data, not only Kanemaki sensei.
Our lab is working on DNA replication, recombination, and repair. And I worked on making a gene MCMDC2, MCM domain containing 2. First, I used a new technique called CRISPR/Cas system to try to make a MCMDC2 knocked out in human cells. Then I try to find the function or the rule of the gene. Although final I could not finish all, I was happy to enjoy in the process of the research because it gave the chance to think about my problems and the methods to resolve them, even getting advices from other members. As a beginner, it was good experience on learning in laboratory.
Besides the life in laboratory, this program also gave me a golden opportunity to expand my international relationships. Because the Kanemaki lab is very close to Kitagawa lab, I can chat with all of the lab members in two labs. I am very lucky that I can speak a little bit Japanese, so I can change language when there were some problems on the culture differences or misunderstanding. In addition, the NIG also irregularly held symposium or seminar, even though summer party to let the intern more chance to chat with other professors and researchers. I also made friends with interns who came from other countries. Not only Japanese, but also I experienced other countries culture and attitude.
I also traveled to other places in Japan, such as Tokyo, Atami, Mt. Fuji, Kamakura, Enoshima, Kyoto, Osaka, and so on. I very love Japanese culture and felt like a real Japanese on their religion. My lab member almost gave me some information for safety and living. Especially when I went to climb the Mt. Fuji, George san and Kohei san borrowed their jackets for me to protect from cold weather in high altitude of Mt. Fuji. And also, when I went to Kyoto, Kohei san acted as a guide to introduce the scene and historic spots in Kyoto. They also liked to take me to many restaurant to taste a lot of Japanese cuisine, such as sushi, ramen, and don. Even though I do not have the favorite food all the time because of my strange personality, I liked to go with them and the food became more delicious than I imagined.
The seventy days have become one of my memories that I never forget. For me, it may just a beginning. But, I think their help and passion can become a good power to be a researcher in the future. I want to thank for all the members in NIG for their good organization and gave me this chance to be an intern in NIG. Thank you very much and wish I will come here again.
Jhan-Jie PENG
From:National Taiwan University
Stayed at:Laboratory for DNA Data Analysis / Gojobori Group
Having the experience to work in labs oversea has been one of my dreams for long. When I saw the information of NIGINTERN program on sight, I decided to apply for it without doubts. Luckily, I got notification that I was chosen for the NIGINTERN, I was really exciting.
The environment here is really nice: the traffic is convenient, the nature is really beautiful, the people are nice, and the most important of all, there are many excellent professors here! Attentively, this program provide us opportunities to visit their labs and research topics are quite interesting.
As for my lab, I was in Gojobori’s lab. The professors here were very nice though sometimes they were too busy to have the chance to discuss with them. In this summer, I tried to understand how eye evolves in cnidarian, especially in jellyfish. After discussing with professors, we decided to use RNAseq, transcriptome analysis, to identify the genes that especially govern the eye formation and function. It was the first time I conducted the NGS and was a valuable experience for me. Once I the result, the lab members taught me how to analyze the data and it’s also the first time I used the bioinformatics way to deal with big data. Though the result was not good as they expected, these practice really helped me a lot.
Beside the experiment, I also visited a lot of beautiful place in Japan: beautiful beaches, fresh sea food and matsuri in Numazu, cliff in Izu, fireworks in Atami, top of Mt. Fuji, cable car and Lake Ashi in Hakone, and even the Kyoto, Osaka, and Tokyo! These places and events were really nice and worth to go!
With these precious experiences, I’m glad to have the opportunity join this NIGINTERNSHIP, sincerely.
Chi-Chan LEE
From:National Taiwan University
Stayed at:Mouse Genomics Resource Laboratory (MGRL) / Koide Group
These 70 days in NIG is a not forgettable experience to me. I want to thank NTU for funding, NIGINTERN committee for organization and Koide sensei for hosting me, to give me a chance to study here.
My project is about the bitter taste sensitivity among different wild-derived strain of mice, using Sucrose octaacetate (SOA), one of the bitter tastants. Continuing the job that Miss Yang has done last year, I wanted to find out the second gene responsible for SOA sensitivity. Last year, Miss Yang has found one of the receptor genes responsible for SOA sensitivity but also indicated that other genes may participate in it too. Combined with the consomic study done before and the genetic analysis of SNP inside the receptor genes, I was able to find out more candidate genes. Then, by using calcium image, I found the second gene for SOA sensitivity. The problem became more complicated, because my study showed that some more other genes may have to involved in it. Although I did not have time to complete the project, it was really a good experiment for me and my future career. I learned how to come out with hypothesis, and how to designed the experiments to prove the hypothesis. I really learned a lot.
Working in Koide’s lab is a very nice experience. My advisor, Koide sensei, is a very kind and patient person. He solved the problems with me and guided me to finish all the experiments. Other lab members are also very nice to me. Their advice and encouragement made me strong when facing the pressures and the difficulties during the experiment. I also very impressed by the environment and cooperative in the institute. A part of my experiment was done under the help of Mizuno sensei in Iwasato’s lab. With the relaxing and friendly cultures, I can easily express my idea and get useful feedback when discussing with my lab members or even other people in the institute. Thanks to their help, I completed my internship with joy and success.
Staying in Japan was also a great memory for me. I have met some interesting and talented interns here. We climbed Mt. Fuji together, went to firework and the Mishima festivals, and cooked together. We shared our own cultures and had a lot of fun. Koide sensei also took me around and investigated the beauty and culture of Japan.
At last, I want to thank for all the people who give me this great opportunity again, and I will not forget the things that I have learned here. Thanks a lot.