Ms. Islam, Moutushi, who graduated from SOKENDAI in September 2025 as a member of the Molecular Cell Engineering Laboratory, has been awarded the School of Life Science “Dean’s Award” for the first semester of 2025.

The Dean’s Award recognizes degree recipients who have conducted research worthy of commendation and reported their accomplishments in an outstanding doctoral thesis. The award was presented on September 26, 2025 during the graduation ceremony. In addition to the Dean’s Award, Ms. Islam has also been awarded the Genetics Program’s Morishima Award.

・Thesis title :  Advancing the utility of AID2-based conditional protein knockdown

Ms. Islam has provided the following statement regarding the award.

“I am honored and delighted to receive the Dean’s Award from the School of Life Science, SOKENDAI University.

I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my supervisor, Professor Masato Kanemaki. Without his constant guidance and support, this achievement would not have been possible.

National Institute of Genetics, Japan is the first place where I truly learned about research, and it has provided me with invaluable opportunities to explore and grow in this field. I am also grateful to my lab members and collaborators for their contributions, and to my family for their continuous encouragement throughout this journey.

This recognition will inspire me to continue pursuing science with passion and dedication. It will remain a strong motivation as I move forward in my career.”

Ms. Islam

Bharathi Venkatachalam, D4 student in Mouse Genomics Resource Laboratory(Koide Laboratory), received the “Neuroscience2025 Excellence Award for the Training School for Next Generation Scientists” at the “The 48th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Neuroscience Society” held in Niigata, Japan, on July 24th – 27th.

▶ Awarded presentation title: Neural mechanism underlying motivation to approach humans in mice showing active tameness

▶ The 48th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Neuroscience Society

▶ Mouse Genomics Resource Laboratory(Koide Laboratory)

Bharathi Venkatachalam

Yawako W. Kawaguchi, a postdoctoral researcher in Molecular Life History Laboratory (Kuraku Lab), received the Best Oral Presentation Award at the 27th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society for Evolutionary Studies, Japan. The meeting was held at Nagahama Institute of Bio-Science and Technology (Nagahama, Shiga Prefecture) from August 20 to 23, 2025.

▶ Awarded presentation title: Dynamics of Genome Structural Evolution in Vertebrates

▶ SESJ2025 (the 27th Annual Meeting of Society of Evolutionary Studies)

▶ Kuraku Group • Molecular Life History Laboratory

Yawako W. Kawaguchi

Masa A. Shimazoe, D4 student and JSPS Special Researcher in Genome Dynamics Laboratory(Maeshima Laboratory), received the “Poster Prize: 1st Place” at the “EMBL Conference: Gene regulation: one molecule at a time” held in EMBL Heidelberg, Germany, on July 15th – 18th. In addition, he also received the “EMBL Advanced Training Centre Corporate Partnership Programme fellowship”.

SOKENDAI Student Dispatch Program supported this trip.

▶ Awarded presentation title: Linker histone H1 functions as a liquid-like glue to organize chromatin in living human cells

▶ EMBL Conference: Gene regulation: one molecule at a time

▶ Genome Dynamics Laboratory

▶ SOKENDAI Student Dispatch Program

Masa A. Shimazoe

Mr. Minami, Katsuhiko, Ms. Iida, Shiori, and Mr. Hatoyama, Yuki received the Morishima Award from the Genetics Program at SOKENDAI. At the award ceremony held on March 12, 2025, Dr. Iwasato, Chair of the Genetics Program, presented them with certificates and a catalog of the research grant.
The Morishima Award is given to students in the Genetics Program to honor their outstanding performance during their PhD studies and to encourage further achievements.

From left to right: Dr. Iwasato, Chair of the Genetics Program, Mr. Minami, Ms. Iida, Mr. Hatoyama.

Dr. Harsha Somashekar, who graduated from Dept. Genetics of SOKENDAI and had researched at Plant Cytogenetics Lab in NIG, won Best PhD Thesis Award by Plants, an international journal of plant science.

・Thesis Title Awarded: GLUCAN SYNTHASE-LIKE5 Promotes Anther Callose Deposition to Maintain Timely Initiation and Progression of Meiosis in Rice (Oryza sativa L.)

・https://www.mdpi.com/journal/plants/awards/2386

・Nonomura Group • Plant Cytogenetics Laboratory

Masa A. Shimazoe (D3, Department of Genetics, SOKENDAI) in Genome Dynamics Laboratory received the Poster Award for poster presentation at the Life Science Retreat 2024 held in Yamanashi, Japan on January 16-17, 2025.

・Title of the presentation: Linker histone H1 functions as a liquid-like glue to organize chromatin in living human cells

・Maeshima Group • Genome Dynamics Laboratory

Masa A. Shimazoe

Dr. Huong Ta, a project postdoc in Plant Cytogenetics Lab./Nonomura Lab., received the Best Papers Award 2024 in the 96th Annual Meeting of the Genetics Society of Japan.

・Title: AGO4a contributes to the epigenetic shaping of meiotic DNA methylome in rice
・The Winners List

・Plant Cytogenetics Laboratory, Nonomura Group

Dr. Huong Ta (left) with Prof Nonomura

Dr. Xiaoxuan Zhu (Postdoctoral Researcher) and Mr. Yuki Hatoyama (5th-year PhD student at SOKENDAI and JSPS Research Fellow DC2) from the Laboratory of Molecular Cell Engineering (Kanemaki Lab) presented posters at the 12th 3R+3C International Symposium held in Fukuoka from November 18th to 22nd, 2024. Both were honored with the “Excellent Poster Award.”

The 3R+3C International Symposium is a biennial international conference focused on research in DNA Replication, Repair, and Recombination (3R), as well as Chromatin, Chromosomes, and the Cell Cycle (3C).

• Awarded presentation title
  ・Zhu et al. “The RIF1-PP1 complex shapes DNA replication initiation zones to establish the replication timing program”
  ・Hatoyama et al. “A combinational degron system with AID2 and BromoTag uncovers the relationship between DNA replication and the cell cycle”
• The 12th 3R+3C International Symposium
• Molecular Cell Engineering Laboratory

Left, Zhu-san; Right, Hatoyama-san

Katsuhiko Minami (SOKENDAI D5 student and JSPS Special Researcher) and Masa A. Shimazoe (SOKENDAI D3 student and JSPS Special Researcher) from Genome Dynamics Laboratory received the “Excellent Poster Award” at the 12th 3R+3C International Symposium held in Fukuoka, Japan, on November 18th – 22nd.

The 3R+3C International Symposium is an international research meeting on 3R+3C, which stands for DNA replication, repair, recombination plus chromatin, chromosome, and cell cycle.

• Awarded presentation title
  ・Minami et al. Replication-dependent histone (Repli-Histo) labeling specifically visualizes the physical properties of euchromatin/heterochromatin in living human cells
  ・Shimazoe et al. Linker histone H1 serves as liquid-like “glue” of the chromatin domain
• The 12th 3R+3C International Symposium
• Genome Dynamics Laboratory

Left, Minami-san; Right, Shimazoe-san

Mr. Bhim Bahadur Biswa, who graduated from SOKENDAI in September 2024 as a member of the Mouse Genomics Resource Laboratory, has been awarded the School of Life Science “Dean’s Award” for the first semester of 2024.

The Dean’s Award recognizes degree recipients who have conducted research worthy of commendation and reported their accomplishments in an outstanding doctoral thesis. The award was presented on September 27, 2024 during the graduation ceremony. In addition to the Dean’s Award, Mr. Biswa has also been awarded the Genetics Program’s Morishima Award.

・Thesis title :  Role of gut bacteria in domestication of mice

Mr. Biswa has provided the following statement regarding the award.

“I am deeply honored to receive the Dean’s Award from the School of Life Sciences, SOKENDAI University, for my PhD research. This recognition underscores the significance of our work in understanding the role of the gut microbiome in the animal domestication process. I am immensely grateful for the guidance and support from my supervisors and lab members, as well as the collaborative environment fostered by the National Institute of Genetics, which has been crucial in advancing this project. This award motivates me to continue pursuing innovative research with the potential to make a lasting impact in the scientific community. “

Mr. Biswa, Bhim Bahadur (right) & Associate Professor Koide