Selection Results for the Female Researcher Encouragement OM Award Recipients (Report)
                                Chikako Shingyoji, Chair of the Selection Committee for the Female Researcher Encouragement OM Award
　

The selection committee for the FY2017 Female Researcher Encouragement OM Award consisted of nine members: Chikako Shingyoji (The University of Tokyo), Hiroto Ogawa (Hokkaido University), Eriko Watanabe (Yamagata University), Tatsuo Michibue (The University of Tokyo), Kaoru Kubokawa (The University of Tokyo), Reiko Okada (Shizuoka University), Takehiro Kusakabe (Konan University), Koichi Ozaki (Shimane University), and Yoshifumi Yamawaki (Kyushu University). The award candidates were recommended as finalists through preliminary document screening by each member and a selection meeting attended by all selection committee members, and were approved at the June board meeting. At the selection meeting, while referring to the evaluations based on the document screening, the committee deliberated on whether the 10 applicants could be candidates for the award. Based on the objectives of the OM Award, the committee emphasized not only the promotion of outstanding animal science research, but also whether the applicants continue their research with a strong will and high aspirations despite the difficulty of maintaining a stable position. In particular, the committee carefully deliberated on whether such a will was reflected in their independence as researchers, research attitude, approach to research, and future potential. As a result, the committee decided to recommend the following two individuals to the board of directors as award candidates.

Name, affiliation, position, and "research theme" of the award candidate
Akiyo Natsubori
Principal Investigator, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science
Elucidation of intracellular ATP fluctuations in neurons within brain regions related to sleep-wake regulation in animals

Atsuko Yamazaki
Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba - JSPS RPD
Research on the evolution of skeletal formation mechanisms in echinoderms

Reason for Recommendation: The research content of all ten applicants this year was excellent, and their strong motivation for research was evident in their applications. Among them, the research of two candidates stood out for its remarkable originality and potential for future development, and their research approach and passion for research were highly evaluated.
 Candidate Akiyo Natsubori is a physician who studied at Tokyo Women's Medical University. After her initial residency, while treating sleep disorders as a psychiatry resident, she developed a strong interest in sleep. She decided to transition to basic research with the goal of elucidating the brain activity basis of sleep, and she earned her Ph.D. by studying circadian rhythms in the doctoral program at Hokkaido University Graduate School. Previously, the observation of specific neural activity in living animals typically involved microscopic observation of the brains of genetically modified mice expressing fluorescent calcium probes, which did not allow for the observation of neural activity in deep brain regions containing sleep center areas. Dr. Natsubori constructed a system (fiber photometry) that inserts optical fibers deep into the brain and fluorescently measures the calcium dynamics of specific neurons, achieving remarkable results by clarifying the calcium activity patterns of ventral striatal neurons associated with motivated behavior and reward acquisition in mice. The research proposed in this application hypothesizes that intracellular ATP fluctuations occur in brain regions involved in sleep-wakefulness, which affects neural activity and consequently induces sleep-wakefulness, and aims to achieve intracellular ATP concentration measurement of specific neurons in the brain (orexin neurons in the hypothalamus) using fiber photometry. She is currently a 5-year fixed-term Principal Investigator at the Sleep Project of the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science. While facing long-distance marriage during graduate school and subsequently her own battle with illness, she continued to take on challenges with the determination that she must persevere no matter the circumstances, overcoming the difficulties for women to continue research with a resilient spirit and achieving outstanding research results. Last year, she obtained her current position and gave birth. She was highly evaluated for her passion, motivation, and sense of responsibility for research despite the difficulties she faced, and her strong willpower and efforts to continue her research.
Candidate Atsuko Yamasaki aims to elucidate the formation mechanism of larval skeletal structures using sea urchins as material. Up to now, Dr. Yamasaki has aimed to elucidate the developmental mechanism that creates "larval skeletons," which are novel traits acquired in the course of echinoderm evolution. While all adult echinoderms form skeletons, it is known that brittle stars, sea cucumbers, and sea urchins possess unique larval skeletons. It is believed that these "larval skeletons" were acquired through the introduction and reuse of the gene network that forms adult skeletons during the early developmental stage. On the other hand, looking solely at the gene network responsible for forming larval skeletons, while partially conserved across brittle stars, sea cucumbers, and sea urchins, it has been suggested that their upstream regions differ. In the proposed theme, in order to clarify the origin and evolution of larval skeletons, the project aims to elucidate and compare the gene networks that form the adult skeletons of starfish and the larval skeletons of brittle stars and primitive sea urchins, and its originality was highly evaluated. Even amidst the difficult environment of having to change her research locations multiple times, she has continued and developed the research topic of solving the mystery of spicule formation. In the plan for the current application, she attempts to approach evolutionary questions by expanding the research targets to encompass echinoderms as a whole. Currently, she is in the unstable position of a JSPS Research Fellow (RPD) and is expecting a child; however, she never loses her passion for research and strives to minimize and overcome negative aspects. Despite having overcome numerous severe difficulties, her application conveys a passion for research and a strong, proactive determination to break through the situation. Her research attitude of continuing her studies without yielding to adversity was highly evaluated.