[:en]Ayako Mizuno
Hometown in Japan: Sendai
University in Japan: Tohoku University
Major & School Year: Pharmaceutical Sciences, B2
Host Advisor: Prof. Gang Bao, Dept. of Bioengineering
Host Lab: Laboratory of Biomolecular Engineering and Nanomedicine
Research Poster (PDF): “Targeting MSH2 using CRISPR/Cas9”
Recipient: Best Poster Presentation Award (2nd Place)
Why TOMODACHI STEM @ Rice University?
“What is it like to do research?” If were asked this question right now, the answer I might give would be too vague and unreal, since I have never done research. I don’t even belong to any laboratory yet; and that is exactly why I wanted to participate in this program. Through this program, I look forward to learning what it would be like to conduct research in an actual laboratory. I believe that this program will help me get a new vision of my future, and motivate myself to do my basic studies in my home university in Japan. Staying in a foreign university and experiencing research is not what we can always do, much less with ten girls who are studying science and engineering. Therefore, through this program, I would like to communicate actively with people in the U.S. and also with the other participants of this program. I am sure we can share many amazing ideas about culture, studies, and our future goals.
Goals
- Experience research
- Clarify what I want to do in the future
- Broaden my horizons by communicating with people; both people in the U.S. and other participants of this program
- Improve my English skills
- Enjoy every moment of this program!
Meaning of TOMODACHI STEM: Post-Program
It’s been three weeks since I came back to Japan, and two weeks since my new year in the university started. During this past two weeks, I talked a lot about my time in the U.S. to people I met in the university, especially about my research. I feel proud that I have my own poster to show when explaining what I did.
- My favorite experience in the U.S… was seeing the different towns because they really show how people are living, and makes me imagine what would life be like in that place. I liked taking buses and metros and watch the different places of Houston. Sometimes, I also walked through the housing areas of Houston and D.C. It was interesting just to watch the differences from Japan, and also relaxing.
- Before coming to the U.S. I wish I had… Though my time in the U.S. was one of the best experiences I’ve had, because research was a new thing to me, I still have some things I wish I had done better. I wish I had more understanding on the methods I would use in the lab before I left for the U.S. When I started working in the lab, it took me some time to understand the flow of methods and why I was using the methods. It might have been helpful if I has asked about what kind of experiments I would be going to do in the lab, not only reading the articles and trying to understand the overall logics.
- While I was in the U.S. I wish I had.. Also, I wish I had read more papers and articles on my research topic while I was in the U.S. I didn’t realize the importance of reading until my research was half done. My mentor told me some useful tools for finding articles on my topic, and after that, I read more articles, which was really helpful.
Excerpts from Ayako’s Weekly Reports
- Week 01: Arrival in the U.S.
- Week 02: First Week at Research Host Lab
- Week 03: Interview With a Female Researcher
- Week 04: Research in the U.S. vs. Research in Japan
- Final Research Poster Presentation
- Week 05: Science & Technology Policy Study Tour
- Final Report & Tips for Future Participants
Week 01: Arrival in the U.S.
My first week in Houston was long and short at the same time. So many new experiences both exciting and challenging.
Soon after arriving at the U.S., I realized that people here make eye contact with strangers often. Therefore, my first impression of U.S. is that people are super friendly. The challenge I faced this week was my own shyness. I felt quite uneasy when I had to talk to someone at the front desk of the hotel or at stores. I’ve never thought I was a shy person back in Japan; I took myself as rather outgoing person. However, in an environment that is completely different, I found my introverted side. I am not worried about the uneasiness I feel now though because I am pretty sure I can get used to the change quite soon.
The events and seminars I attended this week were all interesting. I found the seminar about how to make a poster especially useful. I haven’t had so many opportunities to think about the design of the poster before; I thought if the contents were fine, the design is not a big deal. However, by comparing various posters, I realized that the design is as important as the contents because it decides the first impression of the presentation.
“Thank God, It’s Friday!!” This week I enjoyed the weekend as ever. Especially on Saturday night, there was a classical concert by Shepherd School of Music which I was really looking forward to. I often go to concerts in Japan, too but here, I was so amazed at the quality of the orchestra, the excellent concert hall the university had, and the passion of the audience. I could see how much people in Houston place value on music and arts. I was so glad to see that Houston kept being a city of art in spite of the damage they had to their concert halls and theaters by Tropical Storm Harvey last year.
This weekend I also went jogging in the morning, roller skating in downtown with other students, and on Sunday we went to NASA together. There are so many places for people to have fun and learn in Houston which is simply amazing.
Initial Reflections on U.S. and Japanese Culture
After coming to the U.S. I was surprised that people smile and make eye contact a lot more with strangers compared to Japan. In Japan, we never smile at strangers without a reason and we seldom look directly into the eyes of strangers. If you do that in Japan, it means that you have something to say to that person. However, we are also taught that greeting people is important in elementary schools (it’s just that no one does it in town). I think this aspect of American culture is very nice and I wish that we could do the same in Japan, too.
I also felt that I have some of the typical Japanese core values after coming to the U.S. As Japanese people are often described as “shy”, I am not really good at talking with people the first time I meet them. I feel uneasy talking to someone unless I really need to talk to them. I have known this was an aspect of my personality for a long time, but back in Japan, there were a lot of people like me. There are also people in Japan who are so shy that they can’t even speak to someone at all, so it wasn’t a big problem. However, in the U.S., where everyone is super friendly, I need to move outside of my comfort zone start a conversation with someone all by myself. I only have four weeks at Rice University so I need to talk with people more proactively and try to make friends.
Question of the Week
I found many national flags and Texas flags in town since I arrived here. There are probably more flags than traffic signs. I thought it was pretty but does American culture regard symbols such as flags especially important? Or is it because it’s Texas that there are a lot of flags?
- Yes, displays of patriotism are very important in American society and you will see the American flag everyone. Also, in Texas the Texas state flag is very popular in part because Texas used to be its own, independent country before it back part of the United States. Using the image of the American or state flag on buildings, signs, consumer goods, etc. is very common in the U.S. but it is one thing that seems a bit odd to foreigners as in most countries this is not so common.
- See the section on History in the U.S. for more on U.S. and Texas state history a video from the BBC on why Americans love the flag so much.
Research Internship Update
I started working with my mentor, Buhle from the first day in my lab. My project is the treatment of cancer using DNA transfection. There are small lab meetings every other Friday and everyone shares their updates and opinions. I was new to the lab, but with the support of Buhle, I could do a simple presentation during that meeting. Since I have just begun studying biology, I had a bit of difficulty until I got the big picture of the project. The main reason for this is because I didn’t have the background knowledge of biology. Therefore, to those who are going to study new field, I recommend that you to start from understanding the basic elements (Plasmids, PCR, DNA transfection, etc. in my case) of your research, not from the papers or articles. By understanding the basics thoroughly, it will be a lot easier to understand what you are doing and why.
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Week 02: First Week at Research Host Lab
In the second week in the lab, I felt more comfortable since I got used to the lab and also understood more about my project. I usually go to the lab at 9 A.M. and finish around 5 P.M. There are lab meetings on Mondays and small group/project meetings or journal clubs on Fridays. This week we had a journal club. We read an article about the possibility of lessening the off-target cutting of CRISPR/Cas9 by partly replacing the gRNA with DNA and reviewed the data and the methods. It was difficult for me to understand the whole content of the discussion, but it was still interesting to hear the discussion on what kind of experiment should have been carried out to ensure the results. When I read the article for the first time, I simply thought the discovery was epochal. However, I learned that I needed to look into the details more carefully before believing the whole thing.
In the lab this week, I checked which primers work and which don’t by using PCR and electrophoresis. The goal of my project is to inactivate the mutated MSH2 gene by using gRNA and Cas9 protein. MSH2 is a gene that makes a protein that plays an important role in DNA repair. Once this gene is mutated it will increase the risks of cancer. Thus, we are trying to figure out which part of DNA cuts the best.
This week I also had an opportunity to talk with the members of the nanoparticle project. The nanoparticle group is doing another project in the lab. They are using iron nanoparticles for drug delivery and imaging. The project I am working on is biological, but the nanoparticle is about chemistry. It was interesting for me to know that there is a completely different project going on in the same lab.
I was worried about my English since I don’t usually use scientific terms in English. After I started to work in the lab however, I came to understand better the words that I frequently use. It is still difficult for me to understand articles or papers, but I think this is not only because of my English skills but also the lack of my biological knowledge. I strongly felt the importance of learning throughout these two weeks.
Apart from the research, we had a lot of fun activities this week. On Tuesday evening, we went to the Houston Rodeo. I had a vague image that the Rodeo is similar to a horse race, so when I arrived at the stadium I was surprised at how different it was from what I expected. The scale of the carnival was so big and there was even an amusement park! The place I especially liked was the hall where I could pet the animals. I haven’t even touched a dog for years, so it was an exciting experience. There were many events at the Rodeo. The part I was surprised was that there were participants from all around the U.S. I wonder if they are all farmers that have their own horses (or bulls or sheep), or if there is a place where people train to ride prancing horses? After going to the Houston Rodeo, I felt that the culture of Texas has a huge impact on the image of U.S. culture.
I also went to the opera at the Rice University Shepherd School of Music this week. I have been interested in opera for a long time, but this was my first time to watch one. The opera was written by Mozart and the songs and the music were so amazing. I would like to go to another opera in Japan, too.
Another event I really liked was 3MT (three-minutes thesis) competition. This is a contest where graduate students talk about their own research, but only in three minutes with one slide. I was so impressed at how the presenters spoke and moved and the way they compared their research to something that is familiar to everyone. Speaking in such a short time doesn’t mean it is easy. Participants must have planned and practiced their speech so many times. I want to be able to speak about my research like this in the future.
Question of the Week
Where do people practice Rodeo? Is there a society that support Rodeo participants, or the participants do everything by themselves? If so, it must be a very expensive (and probably dangerous) hobby.
- Houston Rodeo: History
- Wikipedia: Rodeo
- America’s Biggest Rodeos
- Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame: Rodeo Education
- Texas State Historical Association: Rodeos
- Rodeo Tradition Rides On: Growing in Arizona and the West
- Future Farmers of America
- Future Farmers of American: About – Who We Are
- National High School Rodeo Association
Week 03: Interview With a Female Researchers
I was lucky enough to interview two female researchers in my lab; Buhle and Julie.
Buhle is a Postdoctoral Research Associate. She graduated from Rhodes University, South Africa. Her major as an undergraduate student was biochemistry. After taking her Ph.D at Rhodes University, she worked as a post-doc in Witwatersrand University in Johannesburg. One of the reasons she chose Prof. Bao’s lab was that she was interested in gene therapy since it can be applied to many diseases. However, she also thought that Prof. Bao would be a good mentor, and that is the biggest reason she chose to apply to this lab.
Buhle is from Zimbabwe, and it was not uncommon to go to foreign universities in her community. Her undergraduate university had a good reputation, and it was a small sized university which she liked. Therefore, she chose Rhodes University. In the future, she hopes to stay in the U.S. since most of the research on genes is happening in the U.S. or in Europe. She cannot tell where she will be after ten years since getting a faculty position is very difficult. However, her biggest hope is to continue working in the field of her interest.
As for the lab, there were not too many big differences between her former institute and the current lab; the equipment used for the research is mostly the same. However, the current lab has less limitation on resources, and more opportunities to collaborate with other labs or hospitals. This is not only because there are many hospitals around Rice University, but also because people here are more willing to collaborate with other people or labs. She thinks that there is equal opportunity for women (though not more than men) to be successful in STEM field. If you keep applying and just put yourself out there, you will be surprised at what you can do.
Julie is in the third year of her Ph.D program. She moved from South Korea to Virginia when she entered high school. She took her Bachelor’s degree at the University of Virginia, and worked as a research assistant for two years. After that, she decided to pursue a Ph.D to work as a researcher, since she wanted to do research of her own interest. She was interested in genetics, and applied to U.C. Berekely and Rice University. She chose Rice University because Rice was a relatively small and close private school, which appealed to her.
From her experience, the research environment depends more on the professor than the university. The Bao lab is a big and well-organized lab, so students can focus more on research. The Bao lab is also quite diverse in gender and nationalities. In the future, she hopes to work in R&D in industry. However, whatever position she might get, she is fine as long as she can do research.
She thinks that there are equal opportunities for men and women during school. However, challenges comes after finishing being student and starting to have a family. There are some women professors in Rice, so it is not impossible to be successful in research while having kids, but it depends on the support of others.
After the interview, I was surprised that both Buhle and Julie had very unique careers before coming to Rice University. They found what they really wanted to do and stuck to it. I sometimes feel as if my career is limited and I have little choice, but I noticed that it is my way of thinking that decides the breadth of my choices. What I was impressed was that they were both quite positive about their future, and had confidence in both their own ability and women in STEM fields. I got courage from their attitudes toward their own career.
Research Project Update
This week, we did the T7 assay to find out if the MSH2 region was cleaved or not. T7 assay is a technique used to find out where cleaving happened by cutting the DNA at that part. After gel assay, however, a band was seen in the control which we didn’t expect to see. Therefore, we will figure out the reason by analyzing the DNA sequence next Monday.
I also got to experience several basic techniques which is not directly related to my project. I worked on recombinant of vector, which was interesting. I also made agarose plates for cell culture. It was a good experience since we don’t get to do those part in experiments in classes.
Activities of the Week
This week, I went to the Museum of Fine Arts Houston. There was a special exhibit of dresses, “Oscar de la Renta”, that I really wanted to go to. The dresses were all so beautiful and they were works of art. The dresses I especially liked were dresses based on national costumes. The arrangement of the national costumes was fascinating since it represents the history and culture of the country/region. I also spent my free time watching movies in my room with my roommate, Hiroko. I don’t usually watch movies, but this week I found many favorite movies. It is a lot of fun being a roommate with her.
Question of the Week
Why is volunteering so active in the U.S.? When I visited Methodist cancer center this week, I heard that there are more than 60 kinds of volunteer staffs working in the hospital. It included volunteers such as playing the piano in the hall, or standing at the entrance and giving direction to visitors. In the U.S., I feel that volunteer and charity is more common compared to Japan. What is the motivation of volunteering for American people?
- You may want to read some of the resources we’ve posted under Volunteering in the U.S. on our Life in the U.S. resources page.
Week 04: Research in the U.S. vs. Research in Japan
During my last week in the lab, most of the project was done and I had the data, so I focused more on making my poster. It was my first time to make a research poster, but by getting a lot of helpful advices from my mentor, I was able to finish. I also practiced my presentation quite a bit. On Tuesday and Wednesday night, some of us in TOMODACH program who were free gathered in a hotel room and presented our research to each other. I never imagined that practicing presentations would be so fun. On Wednesday, my lab member helped me present as well. They gave me advice on the technical contents.
On the day of poster session, I was pretty nervous the whole time while I was presenting. However, I started enjoying the presentation after a while. I was so glad when my mentor and the members of my lab came to the presentation. During this research internship, I realized that I have a lot to learn. However, through the presentation I also realized that I learned a lot through the past four weeks. I think that this experience in the U.S. will help build my confidence in the future.
Having spent four weeks at Rice University, I feel that American labs have a lot of interaction between people. People do not necessarily talk a lot while they are working, but the whole lab was close together. The discussion during group meetings was pretty active, and also everyone addressed each other by their first name.
Since I haven’t joined any lab in Japan, I cannot compare the U.S. and Japan. However, in my university, I heard that people are trying to reduce the barriers between students and professors (Addressing each other with Last name plus san, for example). This means Japanese universities also value frankness in the research lab, which wasn’t common in the past in Japan. However, I also thought the atmosphere depends on which lab you join. It is important to choose lab that the research style suites you well.
I am looking forward to finding other differences after I join a Japanese lab this fall.
Question of the Week
Do American students like parties? I saw many students in Rice partying outside on Friday nights, which I don’t see so often in Japanese Universities.
- Yes, but this also part of the campus culture since at Rice all of the undergraduate students live on campus in the student residential colleges during at least their first year and many undergraduate students want to live on campus all four years. Each residential college develops its own community traditions, including Friday night parties and music in the quads, and it becomes a way to de-compress from the stress of all the hard work during the week.
- At Rice there is a common saying, “Work Hard, Play Hard” and just as many Rice students stay at Fondren Library very late to study (or may go to ‘Club Fondy’ after the party on Friday night to continue to study) they also value time to relax and meet up with friends. Each university campus culture in the U.S. is unique though. Universities where there are not so many students that live on campus may be very quiet on a Friday night since everyone has gone home and students may go out with friends to nearby clubs, bars, or restaurants rather than hanging out together on campus. So it varies from university to university but most college students in the U.S. do like to give themselves at least 1 or 2 nights ‘free’ to relax and not study/work if possible.
Final Research Poster Presentation
Host Advisor: Prof. Gang Bao, Dept. of Bioengineering
Host Lab: Laboratory of Biomolecular Engineering and Nanomedicine
Research Poster (PDF): “Targeting MSH2 using CRISPR/Cas9”
Recipient: Best Poster Presentation Award (2nd Place)
I did a research on “Targeting MSH2 using CRISPR/Cas9” in Bao lab, in department of Bioengineering, with the guidance of my mentor, Buhle. MSH2 is a gene which plays an important role in DNA repair. Once MSH2 gets mutated, the risk of cancer, especially colorectal cancer increases. Therefore, we are trying to cleave the mutated part of the gene and replace them into the normal gene. Through my 4-week research, we worked to find out in which part of the exon the MSH2 cleaves most efficiently. We used CRISPR/Cas9 and T7 assay through this project. CRISPR/Cas9 is a genome editing tool which consist of two part, gRNA and Cas protein. By designing the gRNA, it can cleave DNA at the specific part (In my case, gRNA was already designed). For T7 assay, we used it to detect whether the cleaving went well or not, and to calculate the efficiency of the cleaving. For the results, we found out that we were successful in cleaving exon3 of MSH2. Our future goal is to be able to cleave in other exons as well, since there are 16 exons in MSH2. Also, I am interested in applying the same methods to other genes such as MSH6, which increases the risk of endometrial cancer when mutated.
Week 05: Science & Technology Policy Study Tour
There was a question I asked myself thousands of times since high school. “Am I supposed to be in the STEM field?” I chose science over literature, but I was not always sure about my choice.
This week, we had numbers of seminars. Through these, I gained a lot of confidence to keep moving ahead as a science student. The panel discussion with women researchers at Lehigh University had an especially big impact on me. I encountered many great words of encouragement through this discussion. “Fake it ‘til you make it” is one of them. Before this program, in Japan, science students around me all seemed to be so confident and excited about being a science student; to me, it seemed as if I was the only one who was stuck. However, I found that this is not true. Everybody is fighting with the same feeling that they don’t deserve the position they have, but working hard anyways. I was surprised that so many people had experienced the same feeling, and was relieved to realize that it is not only me that has felt unsure about my studies, my future, and my career. Talking with many female researchers, I felt more accepted in the STEM field.
The program activity that had the most impact this week was the Strengths Finder exercise which helped me learn more about what kind of person I am and what strengths everyone in the group has. After this activity, I found my tendency of my action in the past, and why I made those decisions. I felt more confident in myself and also felt that everyone has something special in their personality.
This week, we also had some free time in Washington D.C. The Smithsonian Museums were the best museums I had ever been to. I was so excited, and I was walking around all the time because I wanted to take a look at as many museums as possible. The museum I enjoyed the most was American Indian museum. I am studying Spanish back in Japan, and therefore I am interested in the history and culture of South American countries. I also liked that there are museums that are particular to the U.S., such as the American History museum and African American museum.
The day before we left the U.S., I walked to the supermarket with my roommate in the evening. It was springtime in D.C. so I could see flowers everywhere. I had the impression that Houston is a huge, young city and compared to that, D.C. is a calm, pretty city.
Back in Japan
Because of the great people I was surrounded by, both in the U.S. and Japan, I never got homesick through this 5-week program. However, I did feel I had come back “home” when I was on the train back to Sendai and saw cherry blossoms blooming everywhere. While I was relieved and relaxed arriving at home, I missed all the people I met through my program, and felt a little lonely being alone in my room. I will definitely stay in touch with them, and see them again soon.
Final Report
To my family, I would say the most important thing I learned through this program is that I love my major in STEM field. My family is all Engineering major, and now I am very thankful to my family for giving me the opportunities to be interested in STEM field.
To my professor, the most important thing I learned through this program is how interesting the biology field is. I got the grasp of how research in biology field works, and I found it fascinating. I will study harder and also I’d like to continue reading the articles related to the field I did a research at Rice University.
To a future employer, the most important thing I learned through this program is the importance of moving from myself actively. I learned this attitude from my mentor, who was checking the news of her field every day. The students in my lab were also finding their own tasks, and working on them. As an undergraduate, I was pretty passive and only did the minimum study. However, I realized that if I move from myself, things would be more meaningful and I can get better results.
To other students at my university, I want to tell them how amazing this five weeks in the U.S. can be to us. Some people may say a month is too short for doing research; that we can’t really do anything. But I think this experience means much more to us as a person. You’ll be forced to get out of your comfort zone and learn every day; not only about your research, but also about the culture, language and about your own self. You might feel uneasy, or sometimes a bit tired, but that is how you grow your capabilities.
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Tips for Future Participants
Pre-departure tips: Before I left Japan, I was worried about everything and I thought of taking my stuffed polar bear with me (which took more than 1/3 of the space of my suitcase, so I gave up), in case things don’t go well and I feel lonely. However, after arriving, I got too busy for my life in the U.S., and didn’t have time to feel depressed. So don’t worry too much for no reason. Be prepared, and you’ll be fine.
Working in Your Research Lab: It depends on what you are going to do in the lab, but I recommend you write down every step and the protocols you use in your lab notebook so that you can do it a second time all by yourself. I was so lucky because I could work with my mentor all the time, and ask things when I was not sure whenever I needed. However, not everyone can work together with their mentor all the time; mentors are often carrying out several projects at once, and they also have their own schedules. Therefore you would want to be able to repeat the things you’ve done once by taking notes.
Living in Houston and Rice: Enjoy a lot! Especially if your major is medical related, please visit some hospitals, meet Japanese researchers working in the hospital and talk with them. It is really inspiring to talk with people whose major are close to yours.
Language Studying Tips: In the lab, don’t hesitate to ask questions if there are terms you don’t understand. It helps improve your English skills, and asking is quicker than Googling afterwards.
Things to eat in the U.S.: There are so many recommendations for food in the U.S. However, if I have to choose one, the food I really miss in Japan is Jello. You can find them in the cafeteria so I really recommend trying them.
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