[Student Achievements] The bold challenge of School of Medicine students in the research doctor course: Gaining experience and striving for greater heights

In August 2023, I participated in the Young Researchers Development Seminar hosted by the Japan Neuroscience Society in Sendai.
At the same conference last year, I won the Outstanding Student Presentation Award for my student poster presentation, and Professor Arata told me, "There's no point in aiming for the same award," so this time I decided to take on the Young Researchers Training School, where I'd be competing against graduate students who were on a completely different level in both the amount of experiments and the quality of their work. I had heard that the competition for the first round of document screening was fierce, and since it's the kind of award that graduate students would be competing for, I thought I wouldn't be taken seriously at all. However, to my surprise, I made it through the document screening and became a finalist, moving on to the English presentation screening.

In my previous academic presentations, most of them were in the format of a 7-minute presentation in Japanese followed by a 5-minute Q&A, and even that was all I could manage. This time, the presentation and Q&A were 15 minutes each, and I had to do it all in English. It was a tough time, as I had three things I couldn't escape from at the same time: in addition to preparing for the conference, I had my internship and university exams 10 days before. At that time, I received help from Mr. Kosaka, who is also in the research physician course. Even though he was studying for exams, Mr. Kosaka helped me check my English and prepare my presentation every night until the day before my conference presentation, which enabled me to do my best. I am truly grateful.

Being selected as a finalist and completing a 15-minute presentation in English gave me a sense of accomplishment and confidence in my ability to give presentations in English. I would like to try giving my next academic presentation in English as well.

I would like to continue my clinical training at graduate school and do research again. I feel it would be a waste not to take advantage of the opportunities I have been given to present my research.

On November 3, 2023, he was selected as a finalist for the IDDI Outstanding Basic and Applied neuroscience Talent Award (IDDI Obata Award), sponsored by the NPO Innovative Drug Discovery Institute (IDDI), which is aimed at young researchers who are taking on original challenges in research in the field of neuroscience, and participated in the final selection meeting.

This award was established to carry on the passion for nurturing young researchers of Dr. Kunihiko Obata, the world's first researcher to discover the function of GABA in the nervous system. I passed the first round of written selection and was one of the 11 finalists. On the day of the award, I gave a five-minute presentation using slides and a ten-minute Q&A session. Even a short presentation requires considerable skill, so I prepared by revising the presentation diagrams multiple times. I focused on explaining my research in an easy-to-understand manner even for laypeople, and I managed to carry through with my preparations. Despite being an undergraduate student in the research medicine course, I challenged the Young Researcher Award, which is open to RIKEN researchers, university assistant professors, and lecturers. Being a finalist gave me great confidence in my research. That evening, I participated in a networking event with the other candidates, which I found to be a valuable opportunity to broaden my circle of friends and hear many opinions about my research.

While undergoing initial clinical training, I would like to continue studying at graduate school with the goal of becoming a basic researcher. I am interested in the government-recommended program for creating basic research physicians (basic residency course), and would like to take on the challenge if possible. As Professor Arata is approaching retirement age, I am thinking of looking for a laboratory at another university that will accept me and is conducting research that interests me.

The two of us attended Society for Neuroscience 2023 (the North American Society for Neuroscience conference, Washington, DC, USA), held from November 11th to 15th, 2023. This conference is one of the largest neuroscience conferences overseas, and it is said that it is rare for students in the medical research course to participate. In this environment, we were surrounded by many foreign researchers, and naturally we gave poster presentations in English.

In fact, we have presented at many academic conferences in the past. I believe it was thanks to these small, accumulated efforts that we were able to present confidently at such a large neuroscience conference in the United States. As we were co-authors on each other's posters, we were able to answer questions from many foreigners during the poster presentation, and somehow we were able to hold a Q&A session in English. What surprised us was the number of people, and how everyone kept coming in and asking questions, and how we had to both respond simultaneously to keep up. It was quite a challenge, but I think it was a good experience, and I believe it also helped us gain practical skills for presenting research.

For the two students in the research physician course, it is truly wonderful to have been selected as finalists for an award not just among students, but also among graduate students who dedicate their time to research, and accomplished researchers, assistant professors, and lecturers who are paid for their research. This is an experience that many would like to have, but would rarely be able to obtain. I hope that they will use this experience to continue their research even after entering clinical practice. However, this time, I was extremely happy to see that one student decided to become a basic resident. It is wonderful that they have decided to pursue a career as a basic researcher. Up until now, senior students have stopped by the lab to teach data organization and discuss things, so I believe the research spirit of the many students who have studied research here will be passed down and continue forever. I felt like I had found something that will transcend time and space.