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What drew you to Boston University for your graduate studies?\n<\/strong>It was mainly the friendly, collaborative atmosphere that the students had when I was interviewing here. It was less stressful in terms of there being more communication between students, and it being more supportive in a way I didn\u2019t quite see in other programs.<\/span><\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/span>If someone from the United States talks to you about wanting to visit Japan, where would you tell them to go?<\/span><\/strong> You should also definitely find a phone carrier that has an international\/traveler\u2019s plan. In Japan, Wi-Fi is not very common. You will end up using data packages when accessing the internet, such as when you open google maps or get texts, it can cost a lot of money due to roaming charges. If you\u2019re ever lost, or if you\u2019re in a bad situation you will need a reliable connection. In some ways, Japan is similar to China – there\u2019s a mix of conservative, traditional culture with the technological improvements of the modern age. So there ends up being these weird, but interesting, clashes like Wi-Fi. <\/span><\/p>\n Can you talk a little about your dissertation research?<\/span><\/strong> <\/span>What unique strengths do you bring to your graduate studies?<\/span><\/strong> \u00a0<\/span>What unique challenges do you think you faced in graduate school?<\/span><\/strong> \u00a0<\/span>What are your long-term goals?<\/span><\/strong> What advice would you give to international students who are just arriving and just starting graduate studies? <\/span><\/strong> \u00a0<\/span>Beyond that I would say keep in touch with your family. Even though I\u2019ve lived in the U.S. before, I still get homesick about Japan every so often as well. I\u2019ve also definitely experienced \u201cBoston shock\u201d, like the viciousness of the drivers and the absentmindedness of the bikers around here would be my top two. So be wary of that. On the plus side, I feel people in Boston are actually a little nicer and chattier than the people I\u2019ve met in Japan, so there\u2019s the good and the bad. <\/span><\/p>\n What do you do for fun?<\/span><\/strong> It\u2019s also hard to make Japanese cuisine here sometimes because I can\u2019t get some of the ingredients that I need. I jump at the chance when I can get them. For example, burdock root isn\u2019t commonly used in Western culture. One it\u2019s fairly tasteless, two it\u2019s super fibrous, three it\u2019s not very palatable for most people. But, in Japan we actually use it quite often. It\u2019s a very unique crunchy texture that is kind of lacking when you don\u2019t have it in specific dishes.<\/span><\/p>\n If my friends and family could send me something from Japan I would probably ask for a steady stock of those airtight soy sauce bottles. The bottle is double layered, so it doesn\u2019t let air in when you squeeze the bottle and the soy sauce doesn\u2019t oxidize. I\u2019d ask for that because soy sauce is very important for my culture. I could ask for video games and anime goods as well but I don\u2019t think they\u2019d consent to that. And where am I going to store it all? <\/span><\/p>\n Besides cooking though, when it\u2019s nice out I\u2019ll go biking. Or if I feel lazy, I just sit at home and play video games. <\/span><\/p>\n Are there any faculty members on campus that have helped in your transition to graduate school significantly?<\/span><\/strong>
\nTraditional ones would probably be the best ones – Kyoto, Tokyo, Nara, Osaka would be the major ones. They\u2019re the key attractions with both ancient history on the one side, and modern civilization on the other. Most of these places are also compatible with English. <\/span><\/p>\n
\nI\u2019m currently researching the influence of the lung virome and how it can affect pulmonary B cells. The question we\u2019re trying to address is: since there are pulmonary viruses in the lungs and the lung tissue itself can sustain germinal centers and B cells, we are testing the hypothesis on whether the lung carries a unique B cell antibody repertoire not found in other organs. Much like the hot research topic nowadays of the gut microbiome and how it can affect your health, we\u2019re looking at the lung virome from the perspective of the humoral immune system. <\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span>I was born in Japan, moved to the states at the age of 3 and stayed until I was 13 years old, so I grew up here for a total of 10 years. Because of that, I would say one of my unique strengths is the mix of growing up in America and living in Japan. I have the ability to communicate both sides fairly efficiently. I also have the American side of thinking independently and putting forth your own thoughts. But, I\u2019ve also been exposed\/trained in the East Asian side where we value thinking about our coworkers and surroundings more than accentuating independent thoughts.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nComing to graduate school was less about being a student, despite having the word \u201cSchool\u201d in it. Being a student all my life, to me it\u2019s more about gradually understanding all the responsibilities of being an adult. Not just connecting with your peers and thinking about your career, but also all of the other smaller stuff that gets wrapped into it, like documents, deadlines, meetings, progress reports. It doesn\u2019t really feel like school, but neither is it a true job.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nFor long term goals I would say an industry research position would probably be what I would like. I like to talk about science, I love to debate about science, and I like presenting science. However, the thought of being a PI is not very appealing to me. I prefer a structured environment for me to work in, like having my long-term due dates and knowing what I need to do. Going through the day to day of writing grants again and again and appealing for money is not exactly what I would like to do for the rest of my life. <\/span><\/p>\n
\nTake care of your documents first off. Make sure to check off all the boxes. If your passport is gone, or other documents are gone, it\u2019s going to be very hard to get them back.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nCooking is one. Especially when I really want to lay off steam, I just start getting creative about some ideas sometimes. Most of the times it comes out good, sometimes I have to deal with the results. My cooking is centered around Japanese and Italian cuisine, mostly because Italian tends to be a little easier than other styles, like French cooking. There\u2019s all the prep work that has to go into French cooking that I already do in Japanese cooking to get that proper taste. I don\u2019t want to spend that much time every time I try to make something. <\/span><\/p>\n
\nMostly the international people. For example, Dr. Hisashi Akiyama gave me helpful advice dealing with paperwork between Japan and America. For example whether my situation unique or is there actually a pipeline for me to go through.<\/span><\/p>\n