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I am currently a high school junior at an (American) international school who enjoys studying natural science subjects. Later on, I am interested in pursuing biology related majors in my future university studies. During the internship opportunity, I plan to experience the lab environment as well as gain basic biological experimentation knowledge while helping other members with their research projects. Outside of school and lab, I would be either hanging out with my friends or going thrift shopping.

BA in Biology and Biotechnology, Grand View University, USA

I come from an industry background where my primary focus was on plant secondary metabolite analysis. While at OIST, I am interested in learning more about Okinawa flora from an ecological and phytochemical perspective. During my time in the Husnik Unit, I will be working on mitochondrial genome assembly of Balanophora species and doing metabolite analysis on Mitrastemon yamamotoi using LC-MS instrumentation. In my spare time I like drawing, karaoke, going for walks, and spending time with friends and family.

PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Dalhousie University, Canada
MSc in Genetics from the University of British Columbia, Canada
BSc in Genetics from the University of York, U.K.

I am interested in the early evolution of eukaryotes, and in mitochondrial origins, evolution, and diversity. Animals, fungi and plants make up only a small fraction of eukaryotic lineages, and so in order to study these questions across eukaryotic diversity, my research focuses on protists - diverse, mainly microbial organisms that collectively make up the majority of eukaryotes.

For my PhD I studied modified mitochondria in protists inhabiting low-oxygen environments at Dalhousie University (Canada), and for my earlier postdoctoral research I studied protists closely related to animals with a view to understanding animal origins at the Institute of Evolutionary Biology (Barcelona, Spain). At the ECBSU I hope to study the variety of interactions between mitochondria and more recently established endosymbionts.

I love swimming and snorkeling, exploring new hiking trails, terrible puns, and doodling (including terrible visual puns). Any cat pictures shared with Yi-Kai Fang should be cc’d to me.

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BSc. and MSc. in Biology, Voronezh State University, Russia

My path in biology began with research in biophysics. As an undergraduate student, I studied the patterns of structural organization of glycosidases: internal cavities, tunnels, and pores in the composition of monomers and dimers of exo- and endoinulinases. As a master's candidate, I was inspired by research in the field of protistology, and my master's thesis was devoted to the study of morphology, ecology, and molecular phylogeny of telonemids. I am interested in reconstructing the phylogenetic tree and the early evolution of eukaryotes through genomic and morphological studies of protists, as well as in studying their biodiversity and ecology. Apart from my research, I am passionate about learning to play musical instruments, hiking, painting watercolors, and learning Spanish and Arabic.

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BSc. in Biology, Hokkaido University, Japan

I have been working on different species of benthic dinoflagellates (Coolia, Ostreopsis, and Amphidinium spp.) during my undergraduate course. I have also worked for five months as a research intern in the Husnik Unit and started exploring the role of bacterial symbionts in diverse aspects of dinoflagellate biology (e.g. toxin production or photosynthesis). During my rotation, I plan to explore symbiotic interactions between marine dinoflagellates from Okinawa and their endosymbionts. When I am not working, I am usually cooking or hiking in the mountains.

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BSc. in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, UNAM, Mexico

I am interestred in the underlaying paterns that hide within the sea of information that recent techniques have allowed access to. I did my bachelor thesis project at CICESE in Mexico where I was introduced to metabolomics. I analyzed data from metabolites of a wide range of microorganisms. During my PhD in the Husnik Unit, my aim is to perform metabolomics analyses that will help to elucidate diverse host-symbiont interactions. Outside of work I enjoy sports (mainly those that involve a raquet) and videogames.

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BSc. in Biology, Moscow State University, Russia

I am broadly interested in marine invertebrates and their relationships with symbionts. During my rotation, I will compare Symbiodiniaceae distribution across different hosts (corals, foraminifera, possibly clams) and environments (seawater and sediment). Besides that, I am extremely curious to know what kinds of animals you can find in different environments around Okinawa, so I’ll be also helping with Arno’s project exploring marine and mangrove meiofauna. In my free time, I enjoy hiking, snorkeling, and diving (still haven’t done it much in Okinawa!), also trying to learn photography and social dancing (such as salsa and west coast swing).

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I studied in medical parasitology, mostly Trichomonas vaginalis, and mitochondrial-related organelle (MRO) hydrogenosome in my PhD in Taiwan. My previously work in Charles University, Czech Republic, leads me into a more fascinating world, protistology. By using proteomics and immunofluorescence assay, the complexity and beauty of these small creatures were revealed. I am now gazing around in this interesting world and seeing where it will take me to.

I am a cat person and wishing to discover more feline friends in Okinawa. If you have your own cats, please share their cuteness with me. I also like baseball and play slow-pitch softball. If you like them as well, we can go together for exercise or watch games sometime.

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I've been working as an RUA ever since I moved to Okinawa in 2013. I'm grateful for the chance to be a part of ECBSU from Oct.2022, and hope to contribute to unit operation in some way. I'm interested in all living creatures (particularly birds), folk crafts, farming, and marine activities.