Selection Committee for the OM Award for Encouraging Female Researchers
Chairperson Kaoru Kubokawa
On Monday, May 11, 2015, from 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM, the selection committee for the Zoological Society of Japan OM Award for Encouragement of Female Researchers was held at Hokkaido University's Tokyo Office. There were 20 applications, double the number from the previous year. The ten members of the selection committee were Masayo Soma (Hokkaido Univ.), Eriko Watanabe (Yamagata Univ.), Shinji Kamimura (Chuo Univ.), Kaoru Kubokawa (Univ. of Tokyo, Chair), Manabu Yoshida (Univ. of Tokyo), Yukiko Ogino (NIBB), Rie Kusakabe (RIKEN), Machiko Hatsukami (Shimane Univ.), Sakae Takeuchi (Okayama Univ.), and Mayuko Hamada (OIST). All members attended the selection committee meeting.
The OM Award targets "all female researchers studying animal science." The research themes of this year's applicants ranged widely from basic medicine to ecology, demonstrating the breadth of the field of animal science. The judging process involved thorough discussion based on the selection guidelines: "to encourage new attempts by female researchers toward the development of zoology," and "in particular, to recognize outstanding female researchers who find it difficult to continue their research in stable positions, but who are enthusiastic and possess a strong will and high aspirations to pursue their research." As a result, it was unanimously decided to recommend the following two candidates (in Japanese syllabary order) to the Board of Directors.
Mikiko Inaki, Part-time Specially Appointed Researcher, Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, Osaka University
Research topic: Elucidation of the mechanism by which cellular chirality induces left-right asymmetric visceral rotation
Noriko Ueki, Research Fellow, Department of Life Science, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Chuo University / Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research Educational and Research Support Staff, Chemical Resources Laboratory, Research Facility for Resource Recycling, Tokyo Institute of Technology
Research topic: "Mechanisms and evolution of environmental response behaviors explored through flagellar movement in Volvocales"
Reasons for the Recommendation
Aiming to elucidate the mechanisms of cell fate determination, Dr. Mikiko Inagi used Drosophila embryos to successfully isolate pxb, a novel gene that negatively regulates Hedgehog signaling, which is crucial for morphogenesis. Afterward, she studied abroad at the Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory in Singapore and achieved outstanding results, such as working to elucidate the mechanisms of cell migration using Drosophila oocytes as a model, although she had to suspend her experimental research for two years due to childcare. Since last September, she has begun analyzing the formation process of left-right asymmetry in the hindgut at the cellular level using live imaging, and her efforts to balance raising four children with experimental research must be extraordinary. Her background shows her driving forward with research with strong motivation. Given her age, she is able to continue her research for over 20 more years, and she can be expected to accumulate further achievements. For these reasons, it was unanimously decided that she is worthy of the OM Award.
Noriko Ueki has pursued research aimed at elucidating the mechanisms of environmental response using Volvocales organisms as a model. In her research, she analyzed flagellar movement in response to light stimulation by making full use of biophysical and cell physiological techniques, thereby quantifying phototactic responses and clarifying the role of flagella in directional turns. Furthermore, focusing on the fact that this organism belongs to a group beginning to transition into multicellularity, she is attempting to expand her research into the evolution of integrated cell movement control mechanisms using phototaxis as an indicator. She was evaluated for consistently pursuing the universal biological theme of flagellar movement despite using Volvocales as material, and for having a strong will to continue her research in a part-time position while currently engaged in nursing care. Therefore, it was unanimously judged that she is worthy of the OM Award.
