Buribushi means “a cluster of stars” in Uchinaaguchi (Okinawan language). The establishment and first few years of the fellowship will be funded primarily by the J-PEAKS grant.
The fellowship is a principal investigator position intended to give opportunities for early career independence, to boost promising researchers toward a tenure-track faculty position. We hope that it will come to be recognized as one of the most prestigious and desirable positions for pre-faculty researchers in Japan.
Buribushi fellows will be offered a salary competitive with Assistant Professor positions, research funds (~10 Million Yen per year), and research resources*. The research funds can be used flexibly to hire staff or cover research operating expenses. Fellows are encouraged to apply for external grants (FOREST, KAKENHI, etc.) for additional support of their research activities.
The initial term of the fellowship will be for 3 years, with an additional 2 years possible after an internal review to demonstrate satisfactory progress.
* Resources available for fellows include access to the common use Core Facilities in OIST, shared meeting spaces, and desk space. Please note that dedicated research space with wet laboratory facilities is not available. Research Equipment within the Core Facilities can be found here.
Midori earned her Ph.D. at the University of Tokyo, where she studied centrosome remodeling during sexual reproduction in yeast. She then conducted postdoctoral research on centriole duplication at the National Institute of Genetics in Japan and later at the University of California, San Diego, focusing on centrosome activation crucial for cell division. Centrioles, the core structure of centrosomes, are ancient cell organelles essential for chromosome segregation during cell division and for cilia and flagella formation in differentiated cells. As a Buribushi fellow, she aims to understand how centrioles have evolved to control such divergent functions and how they are inherited during sexual reproduction.
Born in Tokyo, Satoshi was trained as an organic chemist at Waseda University, T. Shibata lab, during his B.Sc. He then moved to Canada and earned his Ph.D. at the University of Alberta, where he met organometallic chemistry (the study of molecules consisting of metals and organic parts) and studied the hydrogenation of carbonyl compounds at S. H. Bergens lab. After one year of teaching experience at Waseda University, he moved to Israel for his postdoctoral research. At the Weizmann Institute of Science, D. Milstein lab, he discovered the iron-catalyzed olefin metathesis reaction, a long-sought-after catalytic reaction. At OIST, he studies the fundamentals and applications of organometallic chemistry. His most recent discovery is a 21-electron cobaltocene complex.
Saacnicteh is a structural biochemist specialized in protein evolution and macromolecule design. She leads the Molecular Bioengineering Group at OIST as a Buribushi Fellow, focusing on the design of protein systems with electron transfer capabilities using computational and molecular biology. She earned her Ph.D. in protein engineering at the Max Planck Institute for Biology, studying how insertions and deletions (InDels) reshape protein structure and function. During her postdoctoral work at OIST, Saacnicteh studied how Nature recycles protein templates by exchanging catalytic molecules to adapt chemical processes. Her current research addresses challenges in sustainable energy, including solar energy harvesting and biofuel production.
(This call is now closed; the information below is retained for reference only.)
Application for Buribushi Fellowship 2025
We are pleased to announce that we are accepting applications for up to two fellowship recipients for the 2025 academic year.
Application Period: December 18, 2024 – February 28, 2025 Qualification: Researchers who are working/studying at Japanese institution as of February 28, 2025 and less than eight years after the acquisition of their Ph.D. as of September 1, 2025*.
* Eligible researchers include the following:
・Those who are expected to acquire their Ph.D. by September 1, 2025.
・Those who are deemed less than eight years after the acquisition of their Ph.D., with considerations for career interruptions due to childcare, illness, etc. Anticipated Start Date: September 1, 2025 or October 1, 2025.
