Airi Nakayama, a junior in the School of Engineering (Institute of Fluid Science, Biological Nano-Reaction Flow Laboratory), presented her research at the OIST Science Challenge in 2021, held online from March 15-19, 2021, and received the “Best Presentation Award in OIST Science Challenge in 2021”. 

The prize is awarded to one student who gives an outstanding presentation out of the 19 students who participated in this program from all over the world. 

 (Contents of presentation) 

One year has passed since the spread of the new coronavirus, and it has been a year of great difficulty, but also of great progress, with the development of a vaccine in less than a year. The vaccine was made possible by scientists from all over the world working together and overcoming barriers such as national borders and language barriers. In this way, I believe that Transcending Borders is essential for science. 

In the past, scientists from three different fields collaborated to elucidate the structure of DNA, a feat that earned them the Nobel Prize in Physics. 

You don’t have to be as great as they are to overcome the barriers. Two years ago, I participated in BIOMOD, an international biomolecular design competition. By teaming up with students from different departments and sharing our knowledge and ideas, we were able to come up with innovative ideas and win the competition. </p

Through this experience, I have become interested in research that spans other disciplines, and I believe that this type of research will advance science in the future. I am currently conducting research on plasma medicine. I am currently conducting research on plasma medicine, which I believe will further advance these two fields by applying engineering technology to the medical field. </p

In the future, I would like to study the brain’s memory mechanisms. I would like to learn about various neurological diseases and apply my knowledge in the field of engineering to develop effective treatments for these diseases. 

I want to continue to break down social barriers, not only in my research field, and make the world a better place. 

Subject：Transcending Borders Äb0

Author：Airi Nakayama (Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Tohoku University) 

Contact： 

Institute of Fluid Science, Tohoku University Biological Nanoscale Reactive Flow Laboratory 

Professor Takehiko Sato 

Tel: 022-217-5320, E-mail: takehiko.sato.d7@tohoku.ac.jp