Tales from student days

Forgetting the time and becoming completely absorbed in my research

While I was a student, I primarily focused my efforts on research in the laboratory and preparing for the National Examination for Pharmacists. In the laboratory, I performed basic research into the mechanisms of eyesight (retinal functions). I would develop my own hypotheses and conduct various experiments to prove them. I found this research process, which was like solving a puzzle in a way, very interesting, and day-by-day, I would forget the time and become completely absorbed in my research. Also, before the National Exam, because we were the first cohort of the College of Pharmaceutical Sciences and had no cohort above us, we developed very strong bonds of solidarity and worked hard on our studies together. The days spent studying late at night in the campus library with my friends and taking breaks to eat together in the student cafeteria were very rewarding. All of this helped me to pass the National Examination for Pharmacists.

Tales from after graduation

Strong sense of reward in the opportunity to contribute to the health of people all over the world

I work in pre-clinical research in the development of pharmaceuticals. As part of that, my main job is to perform efficacy and pharmacology testing of substances that are candidates for new drugs. Specifically, my work involves the use of laboratory animals, cultured cells, and other means to study the effectiveness, action mechanisms, and other aspects of new drugs. Failure is an essential part of research, and I am often unable to obtain the results I want, but I feel a great sense of reward knowing that the research outcomes I have worked hard to build up have the potential to contribute to the health of people all over the world. The fact that I was able to acquire a wide range of knowledge about drugs at a high level at Ritsumeikan University’s College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, as well as the fact that I was able to learn the basics of research and how enjoyable research can be at laboratories that boast excellent research capabilities, have been extremely beneficial in my current work. In the six-year Department of Pharmacy program, students undertake practicums to gain experience in actual clinical settings, and the strong desire to save patients that I felt at those times is still what motivates me to develop new drugs.