Category: UTRIP

UTRIP

By Maria Lewis Hello! My name is Maria Lewis and I’m a junior at Johns Hopkins University studying neuroscience and psychology on the pre-med path. I’m originally from St. Paul, MN in the US, but thanks to the gracious support of the Friends of UTokyo, I had the privilege this summer of being a part of UTRIP and interning in the lab of Professor Goda-san studying aging cells. I first became interested in age-related research last summer when I had the privilege to conduct research at Yale University in the lab of Dr. Rong Fan. This was my first research experience and since that moment I’ve been fascinated by age-related research and cellular senescence. Cellular senescence is when cells stop dividing typically in response to DNA damage. In Goda Lab, I was privileged enough to continue my work with cellular senescence, but from a different perspective than what I’ve worked with before. This sounded like an incredible opportunity for me to expand on my overall knowledge of this topic that is still beginning to be discussed more widely. This summer, I worked with groundbreaking technology developed in the lab of Professor Goda- san, such as VIFFI and IACS. VIFFI virtually freezes the motion of flowing cells, which allows for the imaging of fine morphological and structural features of single cells. Similarly, IACS sorts cells with different chemical, spatial, and morphological traits. I have basic experience with coding and using technology for research, but I’m still fairly new at this topic, so I loved being able to expand on my skills and learn more about the benefit technology can have in regards to cellular research. The first, smaller, goal of my project was to find the ideal concentration of etoposide, a chemotherapy drug, that onsets senescence in HaCaT cells. Overall though, the main goal was to determine the effect certain drug treatments have on cellular senescence and translate it to the effect on humans. I was able to use confocal microscopy, VIFFI, and IACS to detect these senescent cells through a biomarker of senescence, SA-beta GAL. Because of UTRIP and the FUTI Scholarship, I’ve made connections with people all over the world now in Tokyo, the UK, Mongolia, and many other places. However, this is not just connections that I’ve made, but also friends. I’ve had the privilege to build this international network where I can share my ideas with others talk about our different research endeavors. Everyday after I finished my research, I enjoyed being able to talk with the other interns about our different research topics and explore these new ideas and concepts that are so fascinating to me and so groundbreaking for the research world. Outside of my research, I’ve loved the cultural exploration I’ve been able to do both on my own and supported by the UTRIP field trips. I’ve had the privilege to learn a bit of Japanese and participate in a Japanese tea ceremony, wear a Yukata, practice calligraphy, and visit numerous museums and shrines to truly immerse myself in Japanese culture. I’ve loved every minute of my time in Japan. The culture here is so rich and defined and I love that I’ve had the opportunity to be welcomed into it. I’ve also been able to physically explore Japan like Kyoto where I bought too much matcha, the beauty of Kamakura, and the numerous areas in Tokyo such as Ginza, Shibuya, Shinjuku, and many other places. I often joke with the interns when I’ll be back to Japan after this internship and it’s looking like it will be soon because I don’t think I can wait long to come back to a place so beautiful and special to me now. This opportunity has been truly unforgettable and I’m so grateful for the friends I’ve made and the research I’ve had a privilege to be a part of.

UTRIP

By Jeremiah Hugo Four years ago, I started learning Japanese. It was fun to have a new activity aside from schoolwork, but I had to put it on hold, as college was imminent. And it didn’t help that the world wasn’t going to open up anytime soon, so when was I ever going to use all the Japanese I had learned? Fast forward to March: I checked my email on a normal Sunday night, and I saw that I had been accepted into the UTRIP program. I sighed in relief; I finally had an internship for the summer. Not only did I have an opportunity to go to Japan – the country I’d wanted to visit since high school – dangling right in front of me, but I also had a chance to pursue cosmology by dabbling in particle physics. Within an hour, I had accepted the offer. Typically, when I go to new places, I like to know exactly what I’m getting into. However, I didn’t feel the need to do so at the time. From day one, I thought: “I’m already comfortable here. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.” But, I already felt the clock ticking. Six weeks was going to feel like the blink of an eye, so I knew that I’d have to make the most of my time in Japan. And I did. During the week, I learned about various topics, ranging from the passage of particles through matter to the Diffuse Supernova Neutrino Background to neutral current quasi-elastic interactions. In addition to these topics, I struggled with Geant4 to simulate particle interactions with various material media, and I analyzed the data from the simulations with ROOT. This was only part of the preliminary exercises that Professor Nakajima had assigned me. Initially, I couldn’t grasp the point of these exercises because I didn’t get the direction in which I was working towards the SAMURAI proposal. After many days of tackling the preliminary exercises alone, seeking help from Mizuno-san (one of the graduate students in the Nakajima-Yokoyama laboratory), and clarifying with Prof. Nakajima, I became confident in navigating Geant4 and Root. At the end of my internship, I created a method to accurately reconstruct the excitation energy of N-15 during an O-16 (p, 2p) reaction via a Geant4 simulation. In other words, Phase 1a of the SAMURAI proposal had come to fruition. On the weekends, though, I focused less on physics and more on exploring Tokyo. Traveling around Tokyo required learning how to use the subway system, and I did so with ease by the end of my stay. By riding the trains, I was able to go to so many places in Tokyo: I found the staircase in the last scene of 君の名は。in Shinjuku; experienced the vibrant nightlife in Shibuya; explored every floor of Radio Kaikan and ate at a restaurant in Yodobashi-Akiba in Akihabara; hunted for books I could read in the bookstores that covered every block of Jimbocho; and passed through Shimokitazawa on my way to the Toudai karuta club’s practice match, during which I watched two Class A players duke it out. To conclude my sightseeing, I visited the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building Observatory and took in several breathtaking views of Tokyo. In summary, my UTRIP experience could be divided into two parts: (1) six weeks of overcoming challenges and learning; and (2) six weeks of pure joy. The difficulties I faced were resolved due to Prof. Nakajima and Mizuno-san’s patience. I knew that my computer science skills had improved since my last internship and that I wouldn’t understand some aspects of Geant4 simply by reading a manual or Googling the issues I encountered. This struggle was essential for my pursuit of cosmology. Now that I’ve learned more about particle physics, I’m going to retain the knowledge I’ve gained for the future. Because of Prof. Nakajima and Mizuno-san’s support, I’m one step closer to becoming a cosmologist. As for the other half of UTRIP, I could not experience everything that Japanese culture has to offer without FUTI. Because of FUTI, Japan is no longer a distant country on the map that my future self will travel to; rather, it is a country that has left an imprint on my mind after all the sightseeing and speaking with the locals. I also have Sugie-san, Jouno-san, and Ikeda-san from the UTRIP office to thank, as they were a core part of the UTRIP experience. I’d like to visit them if I ever return to Japan. In a nutshell, this summer was both an unparalleled experience that I am grateful for and an opportunity that’ll keep me moving forward towards the future that I desire.

Professor Yasushi Okada’s lab at the University of Tokyo

by Hunter Liu This summer, through the University of Tokyo Research Internship Program, I interned for six weeks in Professor Yasushi Okada’s lab at the University of Tokyo. Under the supervision of my mentor, Assistant Professor Takanobu Katoh, I investigated the localization patterns of a specific protein, polycistin-2 (Pkd2), within the primary cilia of various cell types and how those patterns change upon the addition of a specific morphogen. Pkd2 was originally discovered as one of the genes that cause autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD), but researchers are still uncovering its functions today. In the primary cilium, a non-motile appendage protruding from certain cell types that are not actively dividing, the Pkd2 protein combines with other proteins to form a sensor that detects fluid flow across the cell. This sensor affects many important processes within humans and other vertebrates, ranging from calcium homeostasis within cells to the breaking of left-right symmetry within mammalian embryos. Determining where Pkd2 localizes within the cilium is crucial to understanding its mechanism of action. However, until a few years ago, without nanometer-level optical resolution, studying Pkd2’s localization patterns was nearly impossible. Now, with super-resolution microscopy, we can finally observe these patterns. I spent the first several weeks optimizing cell culture conditions for microscopy observation, trying to find the optimal conditions for growing and observing cilia. While superficially straightforward, this task proved to be nontrivial. I eventually discovered that cilia grew on the cell lines I was using only after several days at full confluency, aided by a specific cell coating. While experimenting with various cell culture conditions, I also optimized the immunostaining procedure and practiced sample observation via the confocal microscope. Once I had developed a reasonable workflow, I began observing samples via a stimulated emission-depletion (STED) microscope that would provide resolution down to 40 nanometers. I completed several experimental runs, scanned my samples, and analyzed the raw data to determine whether Pkd2 localized to a specific side of the cilium. Unfortunately, it was difficult to obtain any statistically rigorous conclusions regarding Pkd2 localization patterns due to software issues with the STED microscope, but my results will inform my mentor’s future work in this area. Additionally, my mentor provided a healthy balance of independence and guidance, enabling me to grow in my ability and confidence to conduct research experiments independently. I had an amazing experience within my lab, but I learned at least as much outside of it. This was my first time coming to Japan, and initially it wasn’t easy despite having taken some Japanese language courses. Finding specific toiletries and ordering from a menu with unfamiliar dishes were some of the interesting challenges I tackled. However, as I acclimated to Japanese culture, I grew to appreciate it. I felt Tokyo’s pulse at the Shibuya Crossing, tried a few delicious restaurants at Shinjuku, visited nine-story shops in Akihabara and Ginza, and tasted some of the freshest seafood I’ve ever had at the Tsukiji fish market. I was also fortunate enough to travel via the shinkansen to Kyoto for a weekend and attend the Gion Matsuri. These attractions are what Tokyo, and Japan in general, are known for. They paint Tokyo and Japan in terms not entirely inaccurate: a bustling land with flashy culture, ultramodern technology, and unimaginable convenience. But Tokyo and Japan are far more than that. Every day I took a new route going to and from my lab, and as a result I chanced upon delicious hole- in-the-wall restaurants and a historic well. While exploring the massive and tranquil Shinjuku Gyōen, a park ranger and I exchanged our surprise at seeing a group of rhinoceros beetles in broad daylight. In Kyoto, because my friend and I decided impromptu to trek down the backside of a mountain instead of returning to the attraction we went there for, we experienced a beautiful sunset overlooking Kyoto. I cherished these small moments because they were a glimpse into the less obvious parts of Japan and Japanese culture; those that are understated, insulated from the hustle and bustle, and/or dependent upon heavier effort. Above all else, the true highlight of my time in Japan was the amazing people I got to meet. My research mentors tolerated my broken Japanese and strove to comprehensively answer my questions despite the language barrier. The owner of one restaurant in Kyoto offered us her delicious tea for free, and even tried to gift us her umbrellas. My friends in my lab and program exposed me to perspectives from around the world. I am glad that I participated in the UTRIP program and grateful to the Okada lab, UTRIP, and FUTI for making all this possible. My six weeks in Japan changed the way I look at the world, and I’ll treasure the pictures and memories I made in Japan for the rest of my life.

UTRIP 2023 in the Yokoyama-Nakajima Lab

by Emma Codianne This summer, with the generous help of Friends of UTokyo, Inc., I have been incredibly fortunate to participate in the University of Tokyo Research Internship Program (UTRIP) with the Yokoyama-Nakajima Group. I am currently a third-year student at Rice University in Houston, Texas, USA majoring in Physics. I was incredibly excited for this opportunity to work and study at the University of Tokyo, as it was my first time visiting Japan and I was able to learn about novel physics research. During my 6-week stay with UTRIP, I worked at UTokyo’s Hongo campus, under the supervision of Dr. Yasuhiro Nakajima. The Yokoyama-Nakajima Group researches experimental particle and astroparticle physics, a specialization I have not previously worked in. At Rice, I am conducting research in experimental condensed matter with the Morosan Group, focused on the synthesis and study of quantum materials with emergent properties such as superconductivity and spin textures. When I heard about the UTRIP program, I immediately knew I wanted to apply because it had been my dream to study abroad and the opportunity to conduct my own research at the University of Tokyo, a place consistently at the forefront of physics research, was incredible. I was interested in working with the Yokoyama-Nakajima lab because of their research regarding neutrino physics, notably with the Super-Kamiokande neutrino detector. My research over the course of UTRIP centered around testing the GAGG scintillator crystal as part of the search for the phenomenon of neutrinoless double beta decay (0νββ). In short, I analyzed the radioactive impurity of this crystal in hopes of reducing its background noise to observe neutrinoless double beta decay in the future. Neutrinoless double beta decay has never been seen before, but its observation would prove the hypothesis that the neutrino is a Majorana fermion—a particle that is its own antiparticle. Through my UTRIP research, I learned much about particle physics, equipment used in the lab’s work (e.g. photomultiplier tubes), and data analysis methods. One of the most memorable parts of UTRIP for me was visiting the Super-Kamiokande site in Kamioka, Gifu prefecture with my supervisor, Dr. Nakajima. Going into the mines and seeing the control room of Super-K in person was truly amazing, and I am so grateful for the opportunity to have visited the place where neutrino oscillation was proven back in 2015. I also got to see how gadolinium was added to Super-K’s water tank back in 2020 for the new SK-Gd observation to improve measurements and sensitivity for neutrino interactions. Outside of the lab, I enjoyed every cultural immersion experience that UTRIP graciously provided, my favorite being our trip to the historic Shunkaen Bonsai Museum where I got to partake in a traditional Japanese tea ceremony and don yukata in the bonsai garden. On another cultural excursion, us UTRIP students were able to watch an incredible kabuki performance at Kabukiza Theater in Ginza, followed by lunch in Asakusa with views of the beautiful Sensoji Temple. These experiences learning about Japanese culture were once in a lifetime and made me appreciate my time in Tokyo and the opportunity to immerse myself in a new culture. I’m very grateful for the friends I made from UTRIP, both inside and outside of the lab. I enjoyed getting to know my fellow UTRIP cohort, meeting new people from all around the world. I also loved spending time with the graduate students in the Yokoyama-Nakajima lab, and am grateful for their kind welcome and help whenever I had questions. My stay at the University of Tokyo went by too fast, but I am so grateful for the opportunity to learn under Dr. Nakajima and conduct research with the Yokoyama-Nakajima Group. I am also incredibly thankful to FUTI, since none of this amazing summer would have been possible without their generous support.

東京大学地震研究所(ERI)

by Suvan Agarwal この夏、私は東京大学地震研究所(ERI)で、綿田辰吾准教授の指導の下、計9週間の研究を行った。うち6週間は、東京大学リサーチ・インターンシップ・プログラム(UTRIP)に参加した。 私は東京で生まれたが、赤ん坊の時に家族とアメリカに引っ越してからはずっとアメリカで過ごしてきた。 だから、2022年秋から半年の早稲田大学への留学は、私にとって2度目の東京での生活だった。 その間に東京での生活が楽しくなり、日本で研究インターンシップを参加したいと考えるようになった。UTRIPは日本で唯一、国外の大学生が応募できる研究インターンシップである上、競争率は厳しいと分かっていたがどうしても参加したいと思った。東京大学からプログラムへの合格を伝えるメールが来たときは驚きもあったけど、FUTIから奨学金も受給できることも分かり、すぐに大きな喜びと興奮に変わった。 6月末早朝(午前4時45分!)に日本に到着したとき、私は戻ってこられた嬉しさでいっぱいだった。騒々しいニューヨークから静かな東京に来たので、まるで別世界にいることのようだった。 私が今回東京大学綿田研究室で扱った研究テーマは、近年開発された津波干渉法を使用して太平洋の海流を検出するというものだった。この技術は、海底のセンサー間で仮想的な波をシミュレートするためにフーリエ変換と相互相関を使用する。これは信号処理では長い間存在しているが、津波センサーのデータへの相互相関の適用が少ない。ERIの南海トラフと日本の北東海岸に広がるセンサーネットワーク、そして数学と物理を専門とする多くの地球科学者の存在があってこそできるこのような難しい研究に携わることができ、とても光栄に思った。 私は幸い通う大学の秋学期が始まる前にまだ時間があったので、UTRIPのインターンシップを3週間延長することを申し込み、9週間まで延長させて頂くことができた。 研究の最初の短期目標は、津波センサー間で仮想の波をシミュレートし、波が進む速さである位相速度を計算することで海流を検出することだった。位相速度が片方の方向で他方よりも速い場合、媒体(海)が片方の方向に流れていると仮定するという手法を用いている。インターンシップ期間を延長した後、この目標は拡大された。今度は、単に2つの津波センサー間での海流を検出するだけでなく、多くのセンサー間での海流を検出し、海流の地図を作成することが目標となった。 このプログラムでは研究に関わったことだけではなく、日本国内を複数回探索したことからも学びを得た。 特に印象深い旅の一つは、岩手県と宮城県に一人旅をしたときだった。この旅では、三陸復興国立公園と岩手津波記念館を訪れ、唐桑(からくわ)半島の先端にある小さなキャンプ場で一晩キャンプした。この旅でいくつか驚くべきことがあった。一つは、この地域にはほとんど電車がないことだ。ほとんどの電車は2011年の津波で損傷または壊れ、それ以来、電車はほとんどバスに置き換えられている。また、若者がほとんどいないこともあった。唐桑半島では50歳未満の人を一人も見かけなかった。おそらく、2011年の地震の後、ほとんどの若者は日本の都市部に移動したのだろう。 もう一つの旅は、伊豆半島と伊豆大島への二日間かけたERIの研修旅行だった。初日には、大室山や根府川など、伊豆半島の様々な地質的な特徴がある場所を訪れた。2日目には丹那断層を観察してから、ジェット船をに乗船し、伊豆大島を訪れた。日本に存在するとは知らなかった地質的な特徴に触れることができたこと、また、東京という地球上で最も大きな都市の近くにこんなに自然が存在することにも驚いた。さらに、旅館での宿泊は初めての経験だった! この夏の東京での経験は非常に充実したものだった。ERIでの経験が非常に良かったため、私は東京大学大学院に進学したいと考えるようになった。興味深い研究だけでなく、東京の生活も気に入っている。研究室で靴を脱ぐことや、食堂の美味しい食事、そして便利な公共交通機関を利用した都市での生活を楽しんでいた。一緒に研究していた教授たち(綿田辰吾さん、三反畑修さん )の親切さと指導のおかげで、自分は科学者として成長してきた。以前研究インターンシップに参加した際は、場所や生活など様々なことを妥協しなければならなかった。しかし、ERIのインターンシップの間は何も妥協することがなかった。 この奨学金を提供してくれたFUTIにも非常に感謝している。前述すべての大切な経験はこの奨学金のおかげのものだ。FUTIのおかげで、人生の次のステップに向けた目標とビジョンを持つことができた。

Research with Dr. Hiroaki Suga through UTRIP

by Max Sigal Thanks to the generous help of Friends of UTokyo, Inc., I had the opportunity to conduct research with Dr. Hiroaki Suga through University of Tokyo Research Internship Program (UTRIP) for 6 weeks. I am currently senior at Northwestern University studying organic chemistry and cell biology, and I research nanoparticle drug delivery with Dr. SonBinh Nguyen. Over the pasts few years, I have become interested in Japanese language and culture and have taken numerous classes to broaden my understanding of Japan; in my sophomore-to-junior year summer, I was lucky enough to participate in an 8-week intensive Japanese language program in Hakodate. During that program, I used my short vacation to visit the Suga lab for an afternoon since their research was related to my research. After that visit, I knew I wanted to conduct research in Japan. Thus, it was thus a happy coincidence when I found out later that year the Dr. Suga participated in the UTRIP program! The Suga lab specializes in modification of endogenous translation systems for discovery of biologically active macrocyclic peptides. As my current research is about drug delivery, I was extremely interested in drug discovery. My project was to find macrocyclic peptide binders for different protein isomers of Ubiquitin, a protein that is essential in post-translational modification of proteins. As my background was mostly chemistry, it was quite fun to finally use the many biochemical techniques that I’ve learned about in my classes, such as in vitro transcription/translation, genome sequencing, and more. By the end of my research, I was able to find 5 or 6 different candidate macrocyclic peptides that will be used for further experiments! While I had previously been to Japan for a more casual summer language experience, I had no idea what to expect from the culture of a serious internship. After arriving at the lab and nervously saying introductions in Japanese to some of the researchers, I was told that there was a welcome party being held for me later that night. I was even more surprised to learn that all forty or so people in the lab would be taking time out of their week to come and meet me. I quickly learned that this was the norm and not the exception. I constantly found myself surprised by the level of camaraderie and willingness to help someone they had just met a few weeks ago. I was constantly being invited to late-night dinners near campus or shown around Tokyo to places I didn’t even know existed. Whenever I have a question (which was quite often), everyone was always willing to take time out of their busy day to help me. Besides the research, I made some amazing friends during my time in Tokyo. We explored all over Tokyo and even took a weekend trip to Ueda and Nagano. I visited castles, a wasabi farm, and all kinds of shrines. I also spent my free time on weekends exploring different types of restaurants. My favorite by far was eating fancy sushi, something I had wanted to do last summer but did not have the money to do so. I was even served some complimentary sake! Because of all the excitement, this summer went by faster than I expected, but I’ll always be thankful for this opportunity and the support from FUTI for making this experience possible.

My UTRIP 2018 Experience in a Nutshell

Riya Shah Thanks to the generosity of Friends of UTokyo, Inc, I was able to participate in a six-week internship at the University of Tokyo over this summer. As an intern at the University, I was fortunate enough to be placed in Professor Suto’s group. As an Astrophysics major at the University of California, Berkeley, I research starspots with Professor Gibor Basri. I have known for a while that I want to do Astronomy research as a career, but I am still not sure which subfield I would like to specialize in. I applied to UTRIP so that I could experience a new subfield of research and gain more insight into what kind of research I would like to focus on. Though the Suto group resides in the Physics department, my specific project dealt mostly with Astrophysics topics. I worked on developing a method that would accurately determine the rotation period of Kepler stars based solely upon photometric data. I worked primarily in Python, a language I was not very familiar with since the research I do at UC Berkeley is in IDL. Luckily, Kamiaka san, the PhD student I was working with, helped me a lot in getting used to Python syntax. I am very thankful for his patience and help. The work I was doing was complementary to Kamiaka san’s work and is going to be used to help him publish his next paper. My goal for my project was to have my code determine the same periods from the photometric data of the Kepler stars as Kamiaka san determined from asteroseismology. After countless hours writing and debugging code, I was able to determine the periods of stars quickly and efficiently. After having my code determine the periods of the stars, I had to go in manually and analyze the light curve on my own to check if the period my code determined was the actual period. Because of the six-week time restrain however, I was unable to go through all 90 stars that I was assigned with. I am satisfied with the quality of my code, however, and hope that it will prove to be useful to Kamiaka san. In addition to conducting research at the university, I was also able to explore Japan in my free time. I visited shrines at Nikko, the Cup Noodle museum in Yokohama, Onjuku’s lovely beach, and many more places in and around Tokyo. My fondest memories are of eating Okonomiyaki for the first time at the welcome party my group threw for me, going to karaoke with the other UTRIP interns (as well as a couple honorary interns from Hakusan House), and watching the Adachi fireworks while eating delicious Japanese desserts and drinking unique Japanese wines. I was also able to experience traditional Japanese culture by participating in a tea ceremony while wearing a yukata, a summer kimono. One of my favorite things about living Japan is the crazy amount of delicious food I was able to eat. I tried sushi, ramen, okonomiyaki, takoyaki, and even Japanese fluffy pancakes. Out of all the food I ate, ramen is my most favorite. I made it a goal of mine to try as many different types of ramen as I could. I tried ramen with a seafood-based broth, ramen with fried chicken in it, the local ramen around my dormitory, and even Michelin Star ramen. I miss Japanese ramen so much that I have actually been craving it ever since I returned to the States. Overall, UTRIP was by far the best internship experience I have had. I enjoyed every minute of exploring Tokyo and also working on my research project. I am also incredibly lucky to have met the most amazing people during my time in Japan. Not only did become friends with all the other UTRIP interns, I was also able to become close with the other researchers in my group. I am extremely thankful to FUTI for helping me to subsidize some of the costs of attending the UTRIP program and would recommend this program to anyone who loves doing research and enjoys exploring.

Microscopic Musings and Mouthwatering Matcha: Six Weeks at the University of Tokyo

Jasper Miura My last class of the day had just ended when I read the email accepting me to the University of Tokyo Research Internship Program (UTRIP)—quite an unexpected surprise! Thanks to the generous support of the FUTI Scholarship, I was selected to participate in this six-week program at the University of Tokyo, working in Professor Tetsuya Hasegawa’s solid-state chemistry laboratory. As a student at Brown University studying inorganic geochemistry, I had applied to this program in large part to gain experience in chemistry research. Prior to this internship, I have only worked in geology labs, so I was eager to apply my chemistry background more directly with Professor Hasegawa’s research group. Thus began my six-week research internship at the University of Tokyo. From the very first day, I was filled with awe as I toured the University of Tokyo Hongo campus. While the magnificent buildings around me spoke of wisdom accumulated over many years of study, they also carried a sleek air of modernity. From the state-of-the-art chemistry laboratories filled with students and professors busy with experiments, to the beautiful cafeteria filled with delicious scents of curry rice and ramen, I was excited to begin my life as a research intern. In the Hasegawa laboratory, I worked under Dr. Akira Chikamatsu and my mentor, graduate student Takahiro Maruyama. Prior to arriving in Japan, a friend of mine who previously had an internship in Japan warned me about the strict work culture. I was pleasantly surprised by the Hasegawa Lab group—while studious and hardworking, my fellow lab-mates were friendly and eager to help. The first week of my internship was spent reading previous studies, to understand the fundamental concepts behind my project and the methods I would be using to conduct my experiments. With my geoscience background, I was initially intimidated by the high level of chemistry research that I would be participating in at this prestigious institution. However, thanks to Chikamatsu-sensee and Maruyama-san, I quickly learned how high-quality thin films are created, and how atoms are incorporated into their structure. I also discovered that many concepts I previously learned in my geoscience coursework could be applied to understanding the solid-state chemistry reactions that I would be using in the lab; just like minerals in the Earth can incorporate impurities into their crystal structure, synthetic materials created in the lab can also accommodate foreign atoms, using the same mechanisms of replacement and substitution. Studying these concepts from the application-based perspective of chemistry provided a deeper understanding of these ideas, which in the Earth sciences are often used to understand how the planet has evolved over time. The remaining five weeks in the Hasegawa lab were a whirlwind of exciting experiments. Alongside my friend and fellow intern in the UTRIP program, I fabricated high-quality thin films by vaporizing pellets of my material of interest with a laser, which then deposited neatly onto a surface with the same crystal structure as the films I wanted to synthesize. Then, I conducted multiple analyses of the films’ crystal structures by observing how X-rays interacted with the material. Next, I baked my films in a special furnace along with a fluorine polymer, with the hopes of having the films take the fluorine into their crystal structures. To determine whether the fluorine was successfully incorporated, I conducted more experiments with X-rays to determine the chemical composition of the fluorinated films. Making these films and understanding the science behind for every step in this process gave me a better understanding of the importance of the results of my experiments—as an exploratory project, I helped determine the viability of using these fluorinated films for thin film batteries, with many applications for wearable technologies. Of course, the incredible research opportunities were not the only reason why I had applied to this program. I made the most of my weekends by exploring Tokyo and the surrounding area to better understand Japanese culture and my own heritage as a Japanese-American. Almost eighty years prior to my summer internship at the University of Tokyo, my great-grandfather (and namesake) attended graduate school for medicine in Tokyo. No doubt much has changed in the city since he was there; I imagine my great-grandfather probably did not spend hours at Don Quijote shopping for the spiciest instant noodles, or taking silly pictures in a photo booth in Akihabara. I found Tokyo to be a cultural hub for the new and modern; in fact, I visited two incredible digital art museums, showcasing magical light exhibits and incredible displays of ever-changing, interactive artwork. Nevertheless, in a city brimming with the contemporary youth culture and incredible displays of technology, I discovered a culture rich in tradition and recognition for the city’s historic roots. With every bowl of ramen, I imagined my great-grandfather savoring similar flavors of salt and shoyu, in a meal prepared with pride and care. I wondered if my great-grandfather also received “small bad luck” in an omikuji fortune at a Japanese shrine, as he worried about his future; or, if he had ever spent a sunny Saturday at the beach with his friends, as I did in Onjuku. Perhaps he too spent an hour or two relaxing in the warm waters of a local bathhouse on a Sunday night, or enjoying fireworks on a muggy July evening on the banks of a lazy river. Particularly fond memories of my summer in Japan occurred outside of the city. From a visit to the peaceful waters of Lake Ashi and the magnificent Mount Fuji, to an exploration of the Imperial Gardens in Nikko and yuba tofu skin soft-serve ice cream (a new favorite of mine), I appreciated these moments outside of the flashy bustling streets of Tokyo. Sharing these experiences with my fellow interns made these moments particularly special. My experience in Tokyo this summer was memorable, educational, and fun. Every day was a new adventure, whether it be an exciting addition to my research project or a make-your-own okonomiyaki meal. Six weeks is a long time…
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Research on Non-standard peptide synthesis and selection in Tokyo

Shaopeiwen Luo First, I want to thank to the UTRIP committee, for choosing me as a participant to the summer research at University of Tokyo, and ITO FOUNDATION U.S.A. and Friends of UTokyo, Inc., for selecting me as a FUTI scholar and providing me with financial support. During my summer internship, I studied at professor Hiroaki Suga’s lab for synthesizing and selecting non-standard cyclized peptides that specifically bind to one kind of protein called TAB2. Current tentative drugs are not effective or modifiable enough which might cause excessive risk of unpredictable immunological response. Consequently, I was researching on making alternative drugs for better control. Because cyclized peptides were small enough and of good use of drug, I selected those to one kind of protein called TAB2 and tentatively produce drug that dealt with diseases related to the TAB2. To make the selection works, I learnt how to charge tRNA with noncanonical amino acids and then made cyclized peptides using flexizyme, a modified ribosome, and how to do selection using RaPID selection process and FIT system. The techniques I learnt could also allow synthesis of diverse, natural-product like, macrocyclic compounds other than TAB2 I worked on and facilitate further clinical therapeutics. With the help of my supervisor Dr. Toby, I achieved my goal of learning how scientists limited materials and derived plans for drug discovery. I applied my interests of drug discovery using chemistry technologies combined with biology basis, familiarized myself with lab work about biochemically studying pharmaceutical science. I also made sure that I really enjoyed researching on drug discovery in my future career life. Outside of the lab, I exposed myself to Japanese culture. With UTRIP crews, I saw the amazing temples and botanical garden in Nikko, experienced wearing yukata and tried tea ceremony. I also explored Tokyo city, Mountain Hakone and Yokohama on weekends: wearing yukata and going to the Natsu omatsuri with friends; losing myself in the modern art museum; try making noodles in Yokohama. Like the fireworks in Natsu omatsuri, my research experience and life in Tokyo was gorgeous and unforgettable. Finally, I want to again make special thanks to UTokyo staff and UTRIP committee for selecting me as a participant to this amazing trip, Professor Suga’s lab for providing me with opportunities to get in touch with frontier science, and ITO FOUNDATION U.S.A. as well as Friends of Tokyo. Inc for selecting me as a FUTI scholar.

UTRIP 2017 : Six weeks in Tokyo

by Camille Biscarrat — This summer, I had the opportunity to participate in the University of Tokyo Research Internship Program (UTRIP) thanks to the financial support from Friends of UTokyo, Inc. I was a research intern in Professor Goda’s Molecular Imaging and Spectroscopy lab. At my home institution, University of California, Berkeley, I work in the Computational Imaging Lab, where we explore and design new imaging techniques and algorithms, focusing both on hardware and software. It was my research mentor, Professor Waller, who introduced me to Professor Goda’s work on optical time stretch microscopy. The idea of conducting cutting-edge research in a top institution like University of Tokyo was so enticing that I immediately applied to the program. In Goda Lab, I worked with Assistant Professor Cheng Lei and graduate student Hirofumi Kobayashi on their High Throughput Imaging Flow Cytometry with AI project. The main goal of this research is to distinguish cancer cells from treated cancer cells in a label-free manner while achieving high throughput and high image resolution. By the time I arrived in Tokyo, the team had established a working pipeline for their project, from cell cultivation to imaging the cells using the optical setup to data analysis. On my first day in the lab, Prof. Lei mentioned that they were considering using Machine Learning to do the classification, although no lab member had substantial experience in this field. Coming from a computer science and electrical engineering background, this sounded more interesting than preparing the cell cultures for the experiment. I had never done Machine Learning before but I wanted to learn and become familiar with it. Thus began my 6 week internship: working on something very new to me in a different university halfway across the world. I spent much of my time reading papers and other resources to learn about Machine Learning, support vector machines, vector of locally aggregated descriptors, and convolutional neural nets (CNN). I spent countless hours writing and debugging code to finally obtain classifications with over 95% accuracies. My knowledge and experience in coding, specifically MATLAB and Python, proved themselves valuable assets for the project, as my team members did not have an extensive background in the field. I worked closely with Kobayashi-san, sharing my new understanding of CNNs, having impromptu meetings to talk about future steps in my work and discussing odd results that did not make much sense to either of us. The truly interdisciplinary aspect of the research conducted in the lab allowed me to fit right in, even though few lab members shared my background. The group was very welcoming and the other interns were equally eager to make friends and discover Tokyo. During my second week, the lab hosted a welcoming barbeque in Odaiba, giving us the chance to meet each other while enjoying delicious grilled food and drinks. An intern and I planned a day trip to Fuji-Q Highland (unfortunately, Mt. Fuji was nowhere to be seen that day). I ended my time in the lab with a good-bye lunch at a local restaurant. While I spent most of my weekdays at the university, my weekends were filled with adventures. I enjoyed the sun set over Tokyo and the Rainbow Bridge from the beach in Odaiba, I got lost in the sea of people in Harajuku. I explored the many temples and shrines in Kamakura. I stood in the pouring rain to catch a glimpse of the Sumida fireworks. I had sushi delivered in front of me by a mini bullet train (technology is amazing!). I enjoyed a glass of sake in a tiny bar in Golden Gai with newly made friends. I sang my heart out all night in a Karaoke. I tried my luck at arcade games in Akihabara and won a Pikachu plushie. I took a break from the busy city and welcomed the peacefulness of the Imperial Gardens. I discovered the art of Japanese flower arrangement and tried calligraphy. But more importantly, I savored all the delicious food Tokyo had to offer and discovered lemon ramen, a summer specialty. I definitely learned a lot and the research I conducted was very rewarding. I had such an amazing time, both working in the lab and discovering the city. I would like to thank Professor Goda, Lei-san, Kobayashi-san and the other members of Goda Lab for welcoming me this summer and UTRIP for organizing our stay in Tokyo. I would also like to thank FUTI for this wonderful and fulfilling experience and for giving me the chance broaden our horizons, both academically and personally.