After that, I worked as a postdoctoral fellow at Rikkyo University for three years, and although my research topic changed to roots, my research was similar to that in the Okada lab in that I studied genes responsible for plant morphology. At the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), the topic changed completely, and I spent three years doing basic research on improving plant cell walls to increase the production of bioresources. In this project, I learned how rewarding it is to be involved in research that leads to the benefit of society.

Since my arrival at NAIST, I have been involved in interdisciplinary research on the mechanical role of plant cell walls in plant morphology and lifestyle. Before coming to NAIST, I used Arabidopsis thaliana, an herbaceous plant used as a model plant worldwide, as my experimental material, but at NAIST, I have started to work with a variety of plant species, including legumes and tree eucalypts. While exchanging ideas with researchers from architecture and physics at other universities, I am engaged in daily research to understand the diverse forms and lifestyles of plants and to contribute the results of my research to society.

In the morning, I am in charge of housekeeping and childcare, and I feed my child breakfast before going to work; after arriving between 9:30 and 10:00 a.m., I work until about 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. It takes about 15 minutes by car to get to work. The commute to work takes about 15 minutes. When I get home, I often take turns taking care of the children, bathing them, playing with them, and putting them to bed. My husband, who is self-employed, finds it quite difficult to take care of the children while doing housework during the day and finally doing his own thing when the housework is done at night, but he does it well and I am able to do my research with peace of mind. I appreciate it very much.

At present, I have two students under my supervision. I am very grateful that Dr. Demura considers my workload because I have a small child. Maybe it is because we are a graduate university, but many of the students are very enthusiastic about their research, which is very helpful. I have study sessions with the students I supervise, where we read literature related to our research topics, and I feel that there is no complete separation between teaching and research, as I am learning and relearning as I teach.

Regarding the research environment, in addition to the research equipment in the laboratory, there are many common devices in the field of biosciences, and we also have a greenhouse for plant cultivation, so there are few problems in terms of facilities. However, information exchange and administrative procedures are relatively often done only by print or e-mail, so if they could be systematized with some kind of groupware, it would reduce the administrative burden even more and allow more time for research.

Recently, we had a sitter come to our on-campus daycare center, Sentan, to take advantage of the babysitter subsidy. The nursery is well equipped with safety measures and plenty of toys, and I was grateful to have a safe place on campus to leave my child. The basic fee for using a babysitter was not too expensive, thanks in part to the subsidy, but it took time to arrange a sitter because there were no sitters near the university, and the transportation cost was quite high because the sitter came from far away. I hope this will be improved in the future.