Associate Professor Noriaki Sasai
・Division of Biological Science, Developmental Biomedical Science Laboratory (Sasai Lab.)
ＡＡ Mr. Atsuteru Yatsuka
I have two children, one in 5th grade and the other in 1st grade, and I have been using the AA system 10 hours a week since April 2008. AA Mr. Yatsuka is a graduate student in my laboratory, and I ask him to help me with tasks such as managing laboratory equipment, conducting molecular biology experiments, and teaching junior students.
In my lab, we mainly conduct research using chicken eggs and cultured cells. There are some experiments in biology that say, "We must collect the cells at this time," or "If it is not at this time, the growth in the egg will continue. In fact, this is quite difficult with children. For example, in an experiment based on 12-hour processing, if the experiment starts at 8:00 a.m., I have to be in the lab at 8:00 p.m. If the experiment starts at 7:00 p.m., I have to be in the lab at 7:00 a.m. This is because my children are home at that time and I have to take care of them.
Also, since my family is a two-income family, if my child gets sick or school is canceled, I cannot leave my child home alone, especially a first grader, and there are days when I cannot get to the lab on time as scheduled. Before using the AA program, I used to ask students who live in the dormitory on campus to volunteer, but with this program, I can pay them for their part-time work and make them work responsibly, which has been very helpful.
In addition, if my schedule as a faculty member is disrupted, it causes various inconveniences in terms of teaching students and maintaining motivation in the laboratory. In this sense, I am grateful to have an AA who is willing to take on the responsibility of taking care of the lab in my absence, albeit on a supplemental basis.
(September, 2016)
