For our 2nd Find-Your-Role-Model Session of 2024 (76th Session to date), we were honored to welcome Dr. Akihiro Asai as our guest speaker. Dr. Asai currently serves as a researcher and a pediatric transplant hepatologist at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, USA. 
 After receiving his M.D. from Nagoya University in 2003, Dr. Asai moved to Boston, where he worked as a research fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital. He then completed his pediatric residency at different institutions including Beth Israel Hospital, followed by fellowships in Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Transplant Hepatology at Northwestern University and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. Since then, he has been working at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital as a physician-scientist. 
 In the first half of the session, he covered the following themes: “What is a physician-scientist?”, “What are pediatrics, hepatology and transplant hepatology?”, and “What does it mean to immigrate?”. During the latter half, a Q&A session, he provided valuable insights into the differences in research environments and transplantation practices between Japan and the U.S.
 Dr. Asai underscored the importance of choosing an environment that suits one’s interests and aspirations. It was interesting to learn that fellowships in the U.S. (equivalent to "kouki-kenshu" in Japan) are considered to be periods of intense research with the goal of publication, emphasizing a strong encouragement to pursue research alongside clinical work in American institutions. He also talked about the cultural difference in views on transplantation, which contributes to the larger number of transplants in the U.S. We were all captivated by Dr. Asai’s enthusiasm for his role as a physician-scientist, which he described as an opportunity to apply data gained from his patients directly to basic research and then translate those findings back into clinical practice to treat diseases. When asked for advice for students, he emphasized the importance of broadening our perspectives and seeking environments and opportunities that allow us to achieve our dreams. He also stressed the value of nurturing relationships with a diverse range of people.
 The session featured numerous questions from the audience, which helped us gain a deeper understanding of Dr. Asai’s background and philosophies. His experiences as a physician-scientist illustrated how maintaining a wide range of possibilities can lead to innovation. We look forward to meeting many more role-model physicians with diverse backgrounds and specialties that match our interest.