Assoc.Prof. ISHIDA Yasumasa
Functional Genomics and Medicine
Please tell us about your own research and what you find interesting about it.
What role does PD-1, a negative regulator of immune response, play in discriminating the self from the non-self? I’d like to elucidate this and other dimensions of the functions of PD-1.
Please tell us about the difficulties and joys of the research field.
Personally, I love research that’s full of risk. It’s like a jack-in-the-box, almost. I understand that this is very difficult for the students who have to go along with it, however...
Please tell us about the expected results and social significance of the project.
Despite our lymphocytes' ability to identify cancer cells as “non-self,” they’re unable to eliminate them efficiently because PD-1 negatively regulates their function. Our research will help clarify why PD-1 stops lymphocyte attacks on cancer cells (which should be a beneficial immune response).
A message of support for students who are about to take the exam
No matter what field you go into, keep working hard. Until you find something that you believe you’ll continue to feel interested in for the rest of your life, continue your efforts and don’t make compromises.
What websites, books, review articles, and so on, do you recommend for studying in order to apply for the lab ?
Here is one review on PD-1.
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/9/6/1376
What do you do to keep yourself fresh?
My hobby is to buy old electric guitars manufactured in a studio in Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture, Japan, in the 1970s, repair them, and keep playing them, excluding anyone’s disturbances.