14:36 – 14:46 Self introduction by 5 students who came to NIG after the end of May (Lara cassidy and NTU students)
14:47 – 14:55 Closing remarks and presentation of certificates,Professor Yuji Kohara,Director General, National Institute of Genetics Chair of the Department of Genetics
14:56- photo session
[NIGINTERN-NTU]JASSO Short Stay Program Research Presentation, August 22th 2012
13:30 – 13:32 Opening remarks, Koichi Kawakami
13:32 – 13:47 Lara Cassidy, Kitano Lab
13:48 – 14:03 Yu-San Yang, Koide Lab
14:04 – 14:19 Shang-Hao Wu, Akashi Lab
14:20 – 14:35 Tai-Yi Wu, Miyagishima Lab
14:36 – 14:51 Yi-Yuan Lee, Inoue Lab
14:52 – 15:00 Closing remarks and presentation of certificates,Professor Yuji Kohara,Director General, National Institute of Genetics Chair of the Department of Genetics
The extreme help from NIG Internship team starts even before landing Japan. The invaluable help provided by the NIG team can’t be framed into words. The day I entered the NIG I was greeted so cheerfully by my lab. Sawa sensei introduced me to the whole lab and to the work. Sawa sensei’s lab is doing one of the remarkable work in C.elegans development. Apart from the introduction to the organism, I got an interesting project which involved use of techniques like confocal imaging. The extreme help from all the lab members let me to develop the project and put my thought about it.
Apart from the wonderful time in lab, it was really a great experience to go for lab visits. The regular seminars and the colloquium give insight into other labs’ work. Not only the lab work is wonderful, my trip to Japan was one of the great experiences on its own. Japanese people are most warm people I have ever seen. They helped us at each level. Help from the Japanese classes by Miyouchi sensei was fun and informative.
It’s really difficult for me to put the whole experience in words. I have those really good memories with Sawa sensei, lab-mates, other fellow interns and with Pradeep and Neha that led to development of a cheerful environment for me to work. It will be my immense pleasure to come back and work in such a great environment where you get freedom of work.
Purnima Padmanabhan
From:IIT-Madras,India Stayed at:Hiromi Lab. (Division of Developmental Genetics)
The summer that I spent at NIG was truly a turning point for me. I arrived here, full of doubts if I was cut out for a career in research, whether I would be able to manage something of that magnitude. This internship was in very way a precursor to graduate research life. Working with Prof Hiromi was a wonderful experience. It was from him that I learnt the joy of doing something you want to purely because it interests you. Right at the beginning, he had cautioned me that I would work hard and yet not get results and I shouldn’t let that deter me. It was that advice which kept me going even when I got frustrated about negative results.
My project here involved screening for identification of imaginal disc growth factor receptors in Drosophila melanogaster, under the guidance of Dr. Takashi Hayashi, which involved working with a large number of strains of flies. Learning to handle them was, in itself, a great feeling. Here, I learnt a new technique of performing gene knockdown experiments by which I could screen for growth factor receptors out of almost 400 genes. Working full time on a project involved not only dedication but the ability to design my own experiment, analyse and also troubleshoot when things went wrong. Moreover, Dr. Hayashi and the other lab members made life very easy for me as they were approachable at any point of time to clarify any doubts I had. Further, during my time here, I had the opportunity to attend the annual conference in Developmental Biology where I interacted with a number of scientists from various fields, who each widened my perspective.
The guest house at NIG was well equipped and ensured that my stay there was very comfortable. The kitchens brought an interest to cook, and cooking with my co-interns was a wonderful experience. Further, we had the graduate students, Pradeep and Neha, who helped us out in every way possible from taking us to the supermarket to showing us all around the place. With them, I would look forward to the weekends to explore new places – Atami, Numazu, FujiQ. My initial inhibitions about the availability of food for a vegetarian such as myself also vanished as I learnt how to order custom made food, thanks to the Japanese classes we had here.
To summarise, I would say this internship strengthened my conviction that I wanted to do a Ph.D, gave me the belief that I would be able to manage it by giving me a feel of what real research was like. I learnt how and where experiments failed, how to fix them and above all, have the fortitude to keep pushing until I reached the goal.
The moment when I got the mail “We are glad to invite you as a 10-week intern of NIGINTERN program” was undoubtedly one of the happiest moments of my life. And the internship just turned out to be the most enriching experience of my life. Entering Japan, I was taken aback by its natural beauty and also the generosity of people. And at lab, I was just awed by the level of scientific research being conducted there.
My project was based on studying the “cellular effects of a novel anti-cancer drug complex2” under the able guidance of Prof.Maeshima. In this project, I studied the effects of complex2 and cisplatin on cell cycle of human cancerous cell lines (HeLa and PC9) and also examined the chromatin compaction in HeLa nucleus due to drug treatment. I was taught each and every basic step in Animal cell culturing and flowcytometry by the energetic Prof. Hiratani. And also I was taught invitro treatment of drugs and its analysis on HeLa nucleus by Prof. Takatana. In the end, the amount of data accumulated was just so huge, for me to believe that these were my results in just 2 months (actually even lesserJ)!
Other than work, I would like to thank Prof. Maeshima and Prof.Hiratani for teaching me values like time management, punctuality and also respecting other people’s time. I am sure these values will remain with me forever.
Moving to the informal parts, the guest house was just great with all the facilities and cooking was fun with my other co-interns. Having a “master chef” among us, we were blessed with some great food time to timeJ. Also, being a foodie, I tried every other Japanese cuisine and mind you if you are a non-vegetarian, this place is heaven. Also visit to places like Numazu, Atami, FujiQ, Karaoke bar etc with my co-interns was just awesome. The only wish which remain unfulfilled was climbing Mt.Fuji, which I am sure I will conquer someday. Japanese classes were also fun with Miyauchi sensei teaching Japanese and describing her Chennai experiences. I would never forget our UNO games guys and the famous Neha-Tullika match.
In the end, I would like to thank my co-interns, Maeshima and Hiratani sensei, Pradeep and Neha for helping me out during my chicken-pox stintJ. And also I would like to thank SOKENDAI, NIGINTERN committee for providing me with this immense opportunity and exposure to such a great culture and the world-class research in Japan. I would like to end my write-up by Prof. Maeshima’s words, “In Science there are no HOLIDAYS!!!”
It was my first trip outside India, I was a bit scared to start my journey. I was anxious about every small detail about my survival in a new country without knowing the local language. But all these doubts and hesitations were allayed once I set foot on the very humble and accepting land of the early rising sun i.e. Japan. I realized that all my anxiety and qualms were uncalled for as the Nihong-jin (people of Japan) are so helping and generous.
Under the kind guidance of Kanemaki san and Kohei san, I worked on the novel Auxin Inducible Degron method and wanted to see if the degron works in mammalian system /avian system. I learnt a lot of new techniques and carried out few experiments generating encouraging results. Not only techniques but I also learnt the way one should design a question to be investigated for research and how to think about a problem through logical reasoning. One of the best points of working in Kanemaki san’s lab was the freedom that I enjoyed. Kanemaki san was open to discussions at any point and I never felt hesitant in asking any question or expressing any of my thoughts. We had discussions on various topics from research to international history and cultural differences. He was gracious enough to grant me an opportunity to attend the Kobe conference. This turned out to be an enriching experience both in terms of exposure to the kind of research done in the whole of Japan and also visiting a really modernized island.
Visiting Japan was a wholesome experience for me. Along with interesting but hectic weekdays in the lab, I had soothing and relaxing weekends. I got to spend quality time with other interns and PhD students. We explored lot of places together appreciating Japanese culture and enjoying Japanese food. I became a big fan of Japanese food and I miss sushi back home here. Attending the Mishima lantern festival and going to a karaoke bar were unique experiences. Going to restaurants, movies and trying hot Indian food with my lab mates Kohei san and George san was really fun. I also had a wonderful chance to go fishing in the Pacific Ocean and attend a barbeque party that followed. I never felt like a foreigner in Japan. Everyone really made me feel at home. I gathered a lot of happy and sweet memories and also made lots of friends from Japan which I will treasure throughout my life. In short, I can summarize my stay in Japan as ‘70 days of eternal bliss!!!’
I would like to express my gratitude towards the NIGINTERN committee who put in so much effort to organize this program in such a planned and ordered manner.
To all the members of the NIG fraternity, I would like to say thank you for being so kind and considerate and helping all the interns whenever needed.
I will never forget the Summer I’ve had here at NIG. I can still remember clearly arriving here on my first day, jetlagged and disorientated. The members of the Kitano Lab found me waiting nervously at reception on their way to lunch. The warmth and friendliness I was greeted with immediately extinguished any worries I had. We talked and laughed and by the end of lunch I already felt at home. The coming weeks only did more to solidify these feelings.
I jumped straight into my research project. I was investigating the phylogeny of threespine sticklebacks in Japan. The work was both challenging and rewarding. I came up against many setbacks but Kitano-sensei and the other lab members were always ready to help me out. In the lab I was given a lot of independence and was allowed to tackle my project in my own way. This really helped me to hone my critical-thinking skills. Evolutionary genetics is something I’m hugely passionate about and my time working in Kitano-sensei’s lab has been absolutely invaluable to my knowledge and experience. I had the chance to fully immerse myself in a scientific community. I learnt how a lab operates and saw the scientific method in action first hand. I was also given the opportunity to talk to many dedicated and brilliant scientists from all areas of research in NIG during the intern lab visits. This gave me greater insight into the many different fields in genetics.
NIG manages to create a relaxed, friendly atmosphere, while also maintaining a hard work ethic. It’s the absolute perfect environment for science to grow and flourish. I found that after a long day’s work in the lab there was never a lack of ways to unwind. NIG has a bubbling social scene. I was constantly invited to dinners and parties, and even on a fishing trip. This really helped me to meet different people and settle into the NIG community. It was the perfect balance of work and play. Along with NIG organized events I also got the chance to go on my own trips and travels. Among many other adventures, I climbed to the top of Mt. Fuji; explored the old districts of Kyoto; got lost in the madness of Tokyo and went hiking in the Kiso Valley.
Throughout my stay I also experienced Japanese culture and hospitality firsthand. I always looked forward to my weekly Japanese lessons, where Miyauchi-sensei not only taught me the language but also about Japanese society, culture, and cuisine. My time at NIG left me feeling totally immersed in the Japanese way of life and I really fell in love with it. I can only hope that one day I will have the chance to live there again.
Most importantly, I now feel sure where I want to go with my scientific career and this summer has given me the experience I need to achieve these goals. I am so grateful that I was given this opportunity. My time in NIG has been invaluable to me. It truly has been the most amazing summer.
These 70 days of in NIG was a really important and unforgettable experience in my life. I have to thank JASSO for funding, the NIGINTERN program for organizing, and Koide group for being my host lab, so I could have the chance to come here as an summer intern.
Days in the Lab
My Research Topic
Under the advice of Koide sensei, I investigated the difference of sucrose octaacetate (soa) sensibility, a kind of bitter taste, among 12mice strains derived from all over the world. In the perspective of evolution, bitter taste is exceptionally essential for it enables animal to distinguish toxic compounds. Based on the consomic and congenic screening conducted previously in the lab and the SNPs information from the Mouse Phenome Database, I was able to focus on several candidate genes. We set up the GCaMp imaging transfection assay with the help from Mizuno sensei (Iwasato Group), and luckily, identify one of the Tas2R gene as the receptor of soa. I could never forget the evening when Koide sensei and I together shouted in joy and excitement as we saw the green fluorescence lights up on the screen in the dark room. Then as I continued the study with behavioral test and sequencing analysis of the Tas2R genes among strains, the story became much more complicated: Most data were congruent, but in several strains with extra strong avoidance towards soa appears to have no function on the Tas2R gene we identified. This indicates that there must be another gene responsible for the significant stronger sensitivity in these strains. And for the time being I am still on the way to identify this mysterious gene, which I believe would be as exciting.
Working in Koide group
I had a very nice experience working in Koide sensei’s group. Koide sensei, my adviser, was very nice and patient during the instruction, and all the other lab members were very willing to help every time I was troubled. Here I also experienced the cooperation and friendship between different laboratories, with part of the study done with Mizuno sensei in Iwasato group. With the free and relaxing academic atmosphere, I could always express my ideas and concerns to my adviser and other lab members and freely discuss them without any pressure. In this environment, I experienced what doing an enjoyable research would be like. Days of work were tiring, and sometimes quite frustrating with failure, but my enthusiasm towards the research topic grew as I spent more time doing it. It was truly amazing.
During these couple of weeks I surely did improved skills and knowledge of genetic experiments, but more importantly, learned the way of raising hypotheses, organizing and clarifying results, and dealing with experimental paradox. I always believe people of different backgrounds construct their thought differently, owing to their culture and language. Although in this field people share similar knowledge and logic, I was still amazed by the difference from time to time. It is very nice to experience and learn from a different thinking pattern.
Days in Japan
Besides lab works, I had more fun here then I could have expected. My “adventure” in Japan begins on the second day I arrived at Mishima, when Koide sensei kindly showed me around the lovely city. I visited Shuzenji, Ito and Izukogen of the Izu Peninsula with relaxing mood; took trip to Hakone, stunned by the astonishing volcano terrain; and traveled to Tokyo to have a taste of the big city. I also enjoyed the atmosphere of festival with the fascinating fireworks and night markets in Numazu and Mishima shrine during matsuri; gain experience of fishing and took trip to the Fuji safari park; and trace the Japanese belief from gazing at Mt. Fuji, to the Mt. Fuji-origin spring of Kakitagawa, then all the way up to the top of Mt. Fuji itself. The fun is always double with good accompany, so I have to thank my co-interns, all the friends made in NIG, and especially my lab members, always being so kind to include me in their holiday plan. Beside trips I described above, we played badminton and volleyball, made takoyaki together with Osaka recipe, barbequed and went to izakaya, and had a lot more fun than I could list. This is an unforgettable part of my life here.
Time flies, I still cannot believe I did so much work in this short period. 69 days, lots of fun, lots of memory…
I never imagined that I would work in a bioinformatics lab before I came here, because I am interested in plants. Because I mentioned I am interested in mathematics in my autobiography, I was arranged to Akashi lab, a bioinformatics lab about Drosophila. I asked the postdoc whether we have any bench work here. “No!!!!!!” She answered me without hesitation, and I shocked.
My friends and other intern students all joined the labs they expected except I. I always sighed at the first few days. I thought these days might be terrible torture. However, after 69 days, I have changed my mind. It is exciting for learning new knowledge. I learned a lot about programming and Drosophila. Though the knowledge about Drosophila I will not use in the future, the programming I think it will be a powerful tool I can use for my research in Taiwan. It’s very happy to see I harvest and make a progress every day.
Because there is no bench work in my lab, I spent most of time sitting in front of the computer in programming. My project was to analyze the gene chip data from Drosophila melanogaster by two different statistical methods, cluster analysis and principal component analysis. I have to filter some inappropriate data or some conditions by python program language before I analyze the data. Then I can use R programming language to generate the graph of the analysis. Finally, I use these graph to compare whether different tissues show different gene expression, and to find what kind of gene functions make the tissues have difference from other tissues. As a beginner in programming, I spent a month in learning python. Thus, I did not do anything about my project in my first month. I worried about whether I could have enough result to preset. Fortunately, everyone in the lab helped me a lot that I could have a nice presentation.
About the life in Japan was nice, the guesthouse service was very great. It was comfortable to live in. People in NIG and in Mishima are so enthusiastic that I can enjoy the life here. I visited Tokyo and Numazu in this summer. Sometimes I could see Mt. Fuji from the lab. The view of Mt. Fuji is so beautiful that I want to climb it if I visit Japan next time. (I did not prepare warm clothes this time.) Life in Japan was an unforgettable experience for me.
Finally, I want to thank JASSO, NIG, NTU for giving me the chance to be an intern in this summer. The experience and knowledge I learned from here must be helpful for pushing me in my future research.
This is my first time to Japan, so I am very excited. When I arrived at the NIG, I was surprised that it is on a hill instead of in a big and busy city. However, I liked this peaceful environment very much and I could see the Mt. Fuji(富士山) from here. The first time when meeting the Miyagishima san and other lab members, I was a little anxious to introduce myself. Meantime, I wondered whether the Miyagishima san was the boss because he just looked so young.
The laboratory proceeds researches on symbiosis and cell evolution using algae. All of the members in the lab were friendly and willing to help me in any aspects. The atmosphere in lab was good, and I enjoyed this a lot. All of the people worked very hard, on which I was really impressed. So I think I was very lucky to be distributed to this lab.
After a few days, the NIG made a program, which took us to visit other labs in NIG and made each lab introduce itself in detail. There, I learned many kinds of labs in NIG and understood more about the researches they were working on. What amazed me as well were the facilities in the institute. These were all the things that broadened my mind.
Then I started to work on my project. My topic is “Development of heat and acid-tolerant algae for biofuel production”. Everyone knows that we will finally run out of petroleum in the near decades. As a result, scientists want to use biofuel for substitution. Therefore, we want to implement the efficiency of open ponds by making green algae becoming dominant and reducing other contaminants. Most organisms cannot grow in high temperature and acid environment. That is the reason why we want to cultivate heat and acid-tolerant algae. The material I used is Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. It is a kind of model organism and genetically tractable. Moreover, it can produce triacylglycerol (TAG) under nitrogen deficiency. First, I search for some candidate genes, and I chose these BADH, TPS, TPP, P5CS, Hsp 20 and APX. The products of these genes can promote heat and acid-tolerant ability of plants which had been proved on some papers. I extracted mRNA from Chlamydomonas, except the Hsp20 is extracted from Cyanidio shyzon, a hot spring alga, by company. I used mRNA to synthesize cDNA by PCR. Then, I inserted these cDNA into the multiple colony sits of plasmid Chlamy_1 and make transformation into Chlamydomonas by electroporation. Finally, I cultivated these Chlamydomonas in higher temperature about 37 to 39 and evaluated the effects. Although it was busy, I was happy to do experiments. By the way, after the presentation was over, I still went to the lab to offer some help for the other members, for I still enjoyed the atmosphere there very much.
In addition to my laboratory project, I also had a lot of cultural experiences about Japan. I have eaten the Japanese foods such as Ramen(拉麵), miso soup(味噌 汁) and nattō (納豆). Although nattō has special smell and tasted sticky, I think it tasted not so bad. In contrast to Taiwan, the fruit here is more expensive but the milk is cheaper, which surprised me. Japan also has all kinds of foods made from fishes. In addition to the foods, I have visited the mishimataisha(三嶋大社),a Japanese shrine in the mishima. There is full of the traditional buildings and classic Japanese atmosphere. The miko (巫女), a special women serving the Japanese gods, is also a feature of Japanese cultures. I learned the way of the worshiping Japanese gods, and purchased some amulets for gifts to my friends and family in Taiwan as well. There are some deer raised by the people of the mishimataisha, and they are so cute!
Another interesting thing was climbing the Mt. Fuji(富士山),which is sacred to the Japanese and the highest mountain in Japan. Other members in the lab took me and another intern to climb the mountain. Seeing the beautiful scenery on the top, we chatted about Japanese life and ate some snacks. The crater of the Mt. Fuji was huge and spectacular. The temperature was cold, but my body was hot. When the sea of clouds flowed, I felt great and peaceful. I will take this feeling as a precious memory forever.
After my presentation was finished, members in the lab held a “Takoyaki(たこ焼き) party” for me to celebrate. In addition to Takoyaki, I ate sushi(寿司) and other Japanese foods. We cheered and chatted about our cultures. It was the best night I ever had and we drew something funny on the whiteboard. This chance of cultural exchange let me know more about Japan. Thank you NIGINTERN committee, General Affairs/Education Team, JASSO for your help and scholarship. As an intern, I appreciate having this opportunity to experience Japanese cultures and I will never forget this wonderful memory in my life.
The Change in My Motivation Toward Studying Abroad
Before coming to this program, I was the kind of local guy, fearing to go abroad Alone, especially for academic programs; always worrying about not having the ability to communicate with people there and fretting about screwing up. I’d been worrying about speaking foreign languages, having no confidence in my English and Japanese ability. After participating in this Short-Stay program, I found that it’s not that difficult to communicate with other people as I’d expected. Having accents and small vocabulary is never a big problem since everyone here is so kind and patient; always trying their best to understand what an alien like me has to say.
And that is why I’ve changed my opinion toward studying abroad. I am looking forward to cooperating with people from different countries. Based on cultures and life experiences of the countries, people from different countries all have different concepts, no matter toward social life or academy career. I expect myself to take great pleasure in exchanging my concepts for that of more foreign coworkers.
This Short-Stay program is so fruitful to my mind that I am even willing to take it again. However, we’d always need to keep our pace forward to another new challenge and leave this great experience and chances here to others for the next session.
My Research Activities and Achievement
At the beginning of my research, my professor gave me a project. The first step was to do the western blot and check the expression of a specific protein. Another researcher in the lab successfully completed this step but I couldn’t get the right one even though I tried really hard. What’s worse is that both the researcher leading me and I failed on this step. Thus, my professor changed the project.
That was my first time failing in western blot and it made me really depressed. However, while I tried to find the reason I fail, I learned more about the western blot. For example, the detail principles about why I have to do these steps and how does it works. I think this is a good experience for me. After all, to endure the failures and to find out the reasons are the real life for researchers.
My life in Japan
In general, I’ve visited lots of towns and cities and had a great time. I’d been to Atami, Ito, Tokyo and Kyoto. The huge differences between Tokyo and Kyoto really impressed me a lot. The former is modern while the latter is more traditional. I like Kyoto better, for lives there is not crowded and fast-paced as in Tokyo. In contrary to Tokyo, the life in Kyoto is much more relaxing and enjoyable. There are many shrines and castles in Kyoto. And all of them are very beautiful and magnificent. I like the Japanese style shrines a lot. The buildings are all clean, peaceful and beautiful I’ve visited many shrines in every city I’ve been to. And I specifically like the mishimataisha, and the shrine in Kyoto.
Traveling around hasn’t made love Mishima a little bit less. I’ve enjoyed my short stay here a lot, and am most impressed by the Mishima Natsu matsuri. Since Japanese people are very obsessed with the matsuri, almost every resident in this town was out and participating in this event. And that’s when I came to realized how amazingly huge a population this quiet town has.
I also went to watch the firework in atami with my lab friend from Taiwan on one weekend. I couldn’t believe there’s such a splendid show every weekend. My friend and I enjoyed a lot the way local people attend the event: people sitting on the beach with lots of hawkers selling yakisoba and takoyaki around; and still the beach side is still neat and clean even when crowded.
During this short stay, I’ve made friend with interns from all around the world; except Japanese, I’ve met people from India, Ireland, and China. Getting to know more about different cultures is very interesting. People always surprise me with they’re own culture glamour.
I’ve had a pleasant time in Japan for the last few weeks. I love the way people here carefully following every detail lawful or ethical rules, making this country a peaceful social. Take the way people follow the traffic rules for example, every driver will always stop and wait until the pedestrian has passed the crosswalk, even if the latters are still far away from the crosswalk. This is something would rarely happen in my country!
Last, special thank to the monthly scholarship from JASSO. It helps me a lot. Without this scholarship, I wouldn’t have been able to have such an easy life in Mishima nor to travel around, learning the customs and cultures of this magnificent country.
