Hello, I'm Towako Ikegami, a member of the 4th graduating class of UTokyoGSC
Along with my GSC classmate, Mr. Kadono, I represented Japan at Regeneron ISEF 2024 held in Los Angeles
My research aims to discover microorganisms that can produce polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), a type of bioplastic produced by microorganisms consuming sugars and oils, by feeding on the shells of crustaceans containing sugars, instead of using expensive feed like palm oil. I presented this research in the Microbiology section at ISEF
Before talking about what it's like on-site, let me briefly touch on the preparations needed. ISEF has a website called the Virtual Booth where you can see details about each participant's research. There you can find each person's abstract, slides, and videos (in which the researcher explains their work)
Here is this year's virtual booth .
I felt that analyzing how award winners summarized their work and research was quite important during the preparation process, so I especially encourage those of you participating to take a look! 👀
There was a lot of work to do before going to the venue, such as submitting materials to the virtual booth and preparing posters to bring with me, but I think it was worthwhile because I was able to organize my thoughts about the order of my presentation and the structure of my diagrams to make them easy to understand
Moving on to the events in Los Angeles, the first thing that caught my eye upon entering the venue was Tanaka-san, the third-generation violin samurai. She's truly amazing! We also took a commemorative photo with all the Japanese representatives. 📸
I've had the experience of having my research reviewed several times before, but this time, the language used was English, and the focus on a specific field increased the level of specialization, so I was both excited and a little anxious. However, once the review started, everyone was not only very kind, but I also received a lot of valuable advice and insightful comments that will help me grow, making it a very worthwhile experience
There were regular breaks during the judging, and it was really fun to see everyone at nearby booths saying things like, "I'm hungry!" or the Japanese team sulking because they didn't get to go to Dodger Stadium, lol
As a result, I received the Grand Award, "4th Place in the Microbiology Category." I reunited with the girl whose booth was next to mine on the awards stage, and we congratulated each other
This was a wonderful conference full of inspiring experiences that have made me want to work even harder. I strongly hope to continue having fun and encountering many more wonderful experiences through my research. 🦀
Photos 3 and 5 provided by: NPO Japan Science Service (NSS)