Message from NIG-INTERN 2018

The 12th summer research program for undergraduates,NIGINTERN 2018, was carried out from July to August. Seven selected participants enjoyed a 6 week-research internship at their host laboratories.

Members

• Olga Yakimenko

  

  From:Karolinska Institutet
  Stayed at:Mouse Genomics Resource Laboratory (MGRL) / Koide Group

  When I was a little child and started to learn the basics of geography, I asked my mother if there was a country that does not look like any other in the world in its uniqueness. “Japan,” mom said. Turned interested in a miracle country, I found out that Japan or the Land of the Rising Sun, as it is often called, is an island nation in East Asia. And, of course, the beauty of Japanese culture, its originality could not help attracting me to visit this country someday. A lot of guests from different countries come to admire small Japanese wonders: kabuki theater, colorful kimono, bonsai gardens, puppet theater bunraku, a magnificent art of beautiful geishas.

  And so I had a dream.

  

  Many years later, suddenly, I received an invitation for an internship in NIG, and my abstract dream became way more realistic.

  I was accepted to Mouse Genomics Resources Lab headed by Koide-sensei. My research topic was somatosensation, in particular, itch transmission, and my project aimed to understand the modulatory system of itch sensitivity such as socially contagious behavior using rodents.

  Now, upon finishing the internship I want to say this was an amazing experience for me. I’ve learned a lot from it, despite it was my first experience in animal behavioral studies ever. To be honest, the internship was quite demanding and sometimes challenging, but thanks to the great efforts of my mentors and colleagues from MGRL we could make it possible. NIG promoted an environment where I feel like I am able to not only share my contribution but also know it is actually considered and appreciated.

  

   

  Apart from doing science I had a chance to wander around Mishima, as well as travel to Yokohama and Hakone, enjoy fireworks festival in Numazu and even climb Mount Fuji!

  I assume creating an internship program, managing organization as well as monitoring students of the internship all the time was not an easy task, but NIGINTERN team ensured a role of heightening knowledge of every student by offering this amazing opportunity.

  Thank you, NIGINTERN!

  Thank you for being genuine. Thank you for seeing us as partners in learning and sharing. Thank you for helping us with our challenging tasks. Thank you for making us do my best. And thank you for making this possible.

  また日本で会いましょう!

• Lilian Magnus

  

  From:Imperial College London
  Stayed at:Chromosome Biochemistry Laboratory / Murayama Group

  First of all I would like to say that I am extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to come to NIG. The six weeks that I spent in Japan were incredibly valuable both academically and socially.

  The internship taught me about the daily life in a laboratory, how to go about certain research questions, how to handle the equipment as well as how to interpret the results. My lab was very helpful and patient to guide me through my project. Additionally, through attending seminars, presentations and poster sessions I have gained further insight in how I should present my research. In practical terms, I could immediately apply that knowledge to the final presentation we were asked to do. However, I also learned a lot by interacting with the PhD students and post docs that I made friends with. As they are at the position that I want to be in later in life, they helped me figure out exactly how to achieve my goals and what to expect. All in all this internship really shaped me and my future perspectives.

  But the internship was not only great for my academic career, the experience in itself was wonderful. The whole of NIG and especially my Lab and the education office were very welcoming and made me directly feel at home. I made a lot of friends with other interns, students and employees with whom I visited Tokyo, Nagoya, and went to summer festivals, fireworks, restaurants and climbed Mt. Fuji. With them I could further experience and fall in love with Japanese culture and cuisine. I value this time a lot.

  I can only recommend this internship to any dedicated student who is interested in participating in cutting edge research while experiencing Japanese culture.

• Yanjinlkham Munkhsaikhan

  

  From:Mongolian National University of Medical Science
  Stayed at:Invertebrate Genetics Laboratory / Saito Group

  I believe that life is full of exciting experiments. My new experiment started when I received the invitation letter from National Institute of Genetics. When I first received the letter from NIG I couldn’t believe myself because I first discovered about NIGINTERN program when I was a second year student of Medical School. Since from that moment I waited for over 3 years to become a prefinal year student to apply for the program and go to NIG for internship. I was so lucky to be chosen from all of those students who applied from many different countries.

  After I came to NIG, I joined the Saito sensei lab- Invertebrate Genetics Laboratory for 6 weeks. Invertebrate Genetics Laboratory studies the mechanism of retrotransposon regulation in Drosophila which was quite different from my field/study in Medical School. Even though I was not so familiar with this field, I tried to broaden my knowledge about laboratory work in that given time and I learned so many laboratory basics from my supervisor Saito sensei who helped me a lot while during my stay in NIG.

  Beside my laboratory work, I also had the chance to meet a lot of nice NIG students and other professors from different laboratory and got to hear about their studies/research jobs which I found really interesting. Furthermore, during weekends I had time to go around Mishima as well as Tokyo and experienced Japanese culture and their famous cuisines which I loved so much.

  I would like to thank the NIG for giving me this great opportunity to experience laboratory life in Japan. I will not forget to thank Saito-san, Miyoshi-san, Tomoko-san whom without their patience, guidance and understanding, I wouldn’t have done my experiment.

  Lastly, I would also like to thank for all my laboratory mates and NIG educational team members whom have managed and guided me throughout my time of internship in Japan.

• Yuliya Yuryevna Zhukel

  

  From:Belarusian State Pedagogical University named after Maxim Tank
  Stayed at:Laboratory for DNA Data Analysis / Ikeo Group

  Since I entered the university, I have a dream – to visit Japan. When my teacher shared information about the NIGINTERN-2018 program, I thought – “I must do it!”. Of course, I was hoping that I would be able to join the program, but I was really surprised to receive a letter with the words that I really can join this program.

  I eagerly waited for day of departure and carefully prepared for it. It was my first trip so far from my country, so it was exciting. But I had absolutely no doubt about my choice, thanks to General Affairs/Education Team of National Institute of Genetics and their support.

  Here comes that long-awaited day of departure. Even a long flight did not spoil my impressions of this fantastic country. When I was traveling by train from Tokyo to Mishima, I could not believe my eyes, I saw an absolutely different world: different people, different houses, even different plants around. But, when I finally came to the institute, I realized that here everyone was always ready to help and support me, because I was very far from home.

  I joined the Ikeo group – DNA Data analysis laboratory. I was afraid that I would not be able to work in this laboratory, because it is completely different from what I’m studying in my university, but thanks to Ikeo-sensey I figured out everything I did not understand and chose the perfect subject for study. Under the supervision of the professor and other members of the laboratory, I confidently studied the papers and methods that interest me. Other members of the laboratory were also very friendly and sympathetic. When you are far from home, it is very important to understand that there are people around who are ready to help at any moment.

  During Laboratory Visit weeks, we got acquainted with the activities of other laboratories and the leading professors of laboratories.

  Of course, during our free time we tried to get to know more about Japanese culture, architecture and food.

  During the internship I met interesting people from different countries, learned a lot about the different cultures and traditions.

  I am grateful to my lab’s members and members of NIGINTERN committee who cared about us interns every minute of our internship. I want to say Thanks to other interns and peoples who helped me. I want to say Thanks to all Japan for great food, culture and my fantastic journey. At the end, I truly enjoyed these 6 weeks in NIG. I promise I will try to visit NIG again in the future!

• Ta-Chun Lin

  

  From:National Taiwan University（NTU)
  Stayed at:Multicellular Organization Laboratory / Sawa Group

  I’m very gratified that I attended NIGINTERN though it was between a busy semester and the one-month-long summer practice of my baseball team. The NIGINTERN project was a wonderful experience to me. I’ve been fascinated about the culture and lifestyle of Japan and hoped to study and do research in Japan in the future. So this internship was an opportunity for me to experience doing research and living in Japan, and it didn’t disappoint me.

  Sawa sensei is a very respectable professor. Under his guidance, I learned not only the technique of the experiment but also many concepts of doing research. He taught me to do science, to think about what is the meaning underlying the data and adjust the research schedule according to the data, not just continually collecting the data. I also learned a lot from Sawa sensei about the ability of to analyze and explain the data, and learned the skill to bring out the key point in the presentation. Also, he is a very kind person. Besides teaching me how to do the experiments on his own, he also taught me to play tennis. Moreover, he told me which train to take to get to NIG from the airport before this internship, and he also lent me the bag to climb Mt. Fuji, etc.

  My lab in Taiwan is mainly about cancer stem cell. In this internship, I chose a totally different experiment system, C. elegans, so it was a challenge for me at first. Fortunately, I gained a lot from C. elegan, like the molecular mechanism of asymmetric division and the Wnt signaling and secretion pathway, and they are also very important to stem cell biology.

  NIG is a perfect place for doing research. During the lab visit, I saw a variety of research topics, from mitosis to endosymbiosis, from molecular biology to ecology. Any aspect of biological research is available in NIG. It really broadened my knowledge about biology.

  I really appreciated this opportunity, and I want to thank everyone in NIG to give me a substantial internship. Hope one day I can go back to NIG again!