Participation report
IMEG Research Internship Program
The University of Melbourne
1st year PhD candidate
Teruhito Ishihara
I participated in the IMEG Research Internship Program at the Ishiguro lab from 3rd August to 25th August 2018. In Melbourne, we use an iconic Australian marsupial, the tammar wallaby, to study mammalian development and its mechanisms, particularly focusing on mammalian reproduction. The Ishiguro lab is a world-leading laboratory, known for the identification of meiosis-initiation related-factors in mammals. The lab studies mice which are eutherian mammals, but there is no information about some meiosis-related proteins in other mammalian taxa including marsupials. Thus, studying meiosis initiation factors in marsupials can allow us to understand the phenomena more broadly in mammals. During this internship, I analyzed meiosis initiation factors using developing tammar gonads. My research outcomes provided novel insights of mammalian meiosis by identifying conserved and divergent processes between marsupials and eutherians. I hope to publish my data as soon as possible in collaboration between our laboratory and the Ishiguro lab. In addition, throughout the experiments, I learnt many new techniques which will be helpful for my ongoing research in Melbourne. I hope to take advantage of this experience.
All members of the Ishiguro lab are very kind and friendly. They took me sightseeing and also to eat delicious local foods (including horse-meat sashimi). I really enjoyed staying in Kumamoto and doing experiments. I hope to come back to Kumamoto and meet my new friends again. I made many friends, which I hope will become future collaborators. Thank you to all members of the Ishiguro lab and all staff of IMEG.
Finally, I really appreciate the IMEG Research Internship Program for helping me to conduct experiments in Kumamoto, Japan. It was a wonderful experience!
Group photo at my farewell party
