ÑÇÉ«ÊÓƵ

¡¾Date¡¿Fri., August 21, 2026

¡¾Event method¡¿Online (Zoom)

¡¾Laboratories of¡¿
¡¡ANDO Toshinori, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, ÑÇÉ«ÊÓƵ
¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡(3rd Cohort) 
¡¡KATO Hirotaka, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Ehime University (4th Cohort) 
 

Two features of HIRAKU-Global make it incredibly unique as a program. First, we are a program that spans all research disciplines¡ªfrom social science, to science, to engineering, and to medicine, among others. Second, many of the early career researchers in the program, i.e., HIRAKU-Global Researchers (HGRs), are in charge of mentoring and supervising students of all levels, from undergraduate to graduate. It is with these two unique features of the program that we sought to create an event where HGRs could learn about the research of their peers, while also giving the opportunity for students in HGR labs to give presentations (and obtain feedback) in English, something that may not be readily available to many students.
 

Thus, initially with a suggestion from Prof. Toshinori Ando, 3rd Cohort HGR from ÑÇÉ«ÊÓƵ, that the HGR Lab/Member Introduction Workshop was born¡ªwe were able to hold the inaugural event on August 21st, 2026, featuring the (ÑÇÉ«ÊÓƵ) and the (of 4th Cohort HGR Associate Prof. Hirotaka Kato of Ehime University).
 

We first had Associate Prof. Kato introduce his research background and research interests of his lab, followed by a short virtual tour of several lab rooms where his lab members do their daily experiments. Associate Prof. Kato¡¯s lab focuses on plant development and evolution, and thus a number of the instruments and facilities in the lab support plant culturing and microscopic observation. Then, Chihiro Uchida, an Ehime University master¡¯s student from the Kato lab, gave a brief research presentation about her work optimizing a bacteria-mediated method to introduce a new gene (i.e., transformation) into cultured cells of the fern Equisetum arvense.
 

Next, Prof. Ando introduced his lab, which is split into two ¡°teams¡±: the cancer and signaling team, and the periodontal team. Both teams have different research goals, but work together in the same lab to achieve those goals. Specifically, the Ando lab is interested in understanding and drugging oral cancers, and the virtual lab tour showed instruments supporting oral cancer research and diagnosis, as well as several actual oral cancer samples. We next had research presentations by ÑÇÉ«ÊÓƵ doctoral students Nanako Kataoka and Yukina Kobayashi. Kataoka¡¯s work focused on studying how Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) inhibitors can cause something called a ¡°persister state¡± of cancer cells, surviving under the stress. Kobayashi¡¯s work focused on understanding how liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) can regulate cancer through transcriptional control.
 

All of the student speakers were able to complete their presentations in English, and also fielded questions in English from the audience, which included 14 HGRs in total. We hope that each of the students were able to gain some experience in presenting and answering questions in English, while the HGRs in the audience could learn more about the work of two of their peers; perhaps this could be the start of new HGR collaboration(s)!