THE TALE OF BRYAN (ICHI, NI, SAN)

ICHI- ONE MISSION… Japan Odyssey (an Exodus)

Everyone has a story to tell. Going to Japan, I believe I was on a mission. The mission: scientific and cultural escapade. For 10 weeks, I was on an Exodus or escape- I left my home – my comfort zone, the Philippines.

Prior to going to Japan, one question lingered at the back of my mind… Will my Exodus be worth the risk?

NI- Two Main Projects

Under the mentorship and supervision of Kanemaki-sensei, I have worked on two exciting projects – the Auxin-inducible degron (AID) technology and the APEX technology. For the AID, we combined both wet and dry lab experiments to innovate the said technology. We did the first time-lapse microscopy of AID protein degradation and we determine its kinetics. After establishing the said protocol which is fast and quantitative, we screened other compounds which can work better than indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) using the principles of chemistry, pharmacology, biology and physics. We did some preliminary docking experiments to determine its interaction with the receptor protein and by literature determined its cell permeability and Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism. And the rest is history. We were able to come up with some compounds which can work better than IAA.

For the second project, we successfully transformed human cell line stably expressing the FLAG-APEX-MCM8 protein as confirmed by western blot analysis. The APEX technology which was first reported by a group of scientists from Harvard and MIT in 2013, is an efficient method of biotinylating proteins which may form complex with a protein of interest. I had the rare opportunity of testing this new technology during my internship.

SAN- Three Things I have Learned in Japan

As a summary, the three things I have learned in Japan are as follows: unlearn, LEARN and reLEARN.

UnLEARN – I was able to unlearn improper laboratory techniques. I unlearned the common misconceptions in science. The NIG retreat (similar to a conference) has been an eye-opener to the advancements in science and technology.

LEARN- I was able to learn new laboratory techniques and new technologies. I learned that in pursuing good science, inter- and trans- disciplinary science can be employed in order to come up with great findings and results. Every day was a new challenge for me to do better and be the better Bryan.

reLEARN- The program instilled in me that ‘I love science’. I remember listening to the Russian piano score of “You don’t give up on love”. Having mentioned this, the internship program reminded me that “You don’t give up on science”. We often lose heart when experiments fail. NIG taught me not to ket this into our system. NIG taught me to always embody the true spirit of ‘gambatte’ – doing your best and never giving up. In a nutshell, I relearned to Work Hard, Play Harder, and Pray the Hardest.

From Exodus to Genesis

Answering the question I posted above, leaving the Philippines (Exodus) to fulfill a mission was worth the risk. I had a blast doing both wet and dry lab experiments and had fun travelling to Tokyo, Kamakura, Hakone, Atami, Kyoto, Osaka and Fujinomiya. I was able to form friendship with my fellow interns and the Japanese people.

I personally thank the awesome Molecular Function Laboratory (Kanemaki-sensei, Toyo-san, Kenahara-san, Fukumi-san and Akemi-san) as well as our neighbor lab – Centrosome Biology Laboratory for the wonderful experience I had. I also would like to thank Miyauchi-sensei who is really nice in teaching us Japanese language lessons.

To my Kanemaki-sensei who is a mentor, friend, and a scientific otosan to me, ‘anata wa saikou desu’.

To the entire NIG headed by Katsura-sensei, words are not enough to describe how great and wonderful the NIG is.

The internship program might have ended but I felt I never left Japan. Me, my fellow interns and Japanese friends are still in constant communication with one another. I believe that through the love of science, science has successfully bridged the gap between cultural and idealogical differences among us making our place a borderless world. Indeed, this is a genesis (beginning) of a beautiful friendship.

Finally it can be said that my NIG intern program story is one of the best stories or chapters of my life, so far.

For 10 weeks, I have left my home country, the Philippines, to find a new place to call home – Japan.

Exodus turns out to be is Genesis.

To God be the glory. #