Position: PhD student at SOKENDAI in Japan
Research focus: ancient viruses
What do you love about viruses?
Their great diversity and evolutional histories
On what topic could you give a 30-minute presentation without any preparation?
Ancient viruses discovered from archaeological samples
What is your favourite way to spend a day off?
Playing the violin by myself or with my friends, listening classical music, and watching various kinds of movies (except horror ones)
What are you currently learning?
Many things related to my research, such as machine learning, viral evolution, population genetics, etc
What is the most interesting question or challenge in science that is still unanswered?
The origin of viruses
What is the coolest thing about your research?
I am not only focusing on ancient pathogenic viruses but also non-pathogenic ones such as ancient bacteriophages.
What do people think about you that isn’t true?
I am interested in evolution because of my name LUCA (last universal common ancestor). It is just a coincidence.
For which project idea are you still looking for a cooperation partner?
I would like to collaborate with researchers working on viral evolution and ancient DNA.
Which scientific topic (outside of your field of research) do you think should have more scientific attention?
Genetics of rare diseases
If you were completely free to choose a scientific topic to work on, which would it be?
A topic related to virology
If you had the option to advise a younger version of yourself, what would that be?
Try as many things as possible based on your passions.
Is there anything else you would like to share with other EVBC members?
I am greatly honored to be an EVBC member and looking forward to discussing and collaborating with you!