We have been holding a series of events called “Find-Your-Role-Model” Session to provide students with opportunities to interact with TMDU alumni and worldwide leaders in health sciences. Through this roundtable-type, relaxed atmosphere event, we hope students will be able to find their role models in order to facilitate their career development in becoming future global leaders.

For the seventh FYRM session of the academic year 2018, we will host Dr. Nicholas Parrish, Leader of the Genome Immunobiology RIKEN Hakubi Research Team at the Center for Integrative Medical Sciences in Yokohama. Dr. Parrish has an MD-PhD from the University of Pennsylvania in Cell and Molecular Biology. In 2014, he was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Kyoto University, where his research focused on endogenous viral sequences and piRNAs. He began his residency in General Surgery at Vanderbilt University in 2015, developing his clinical interest in liver transplantation and hepatobiliary surgery. From 2018, he returned to Japan to continue his research into piRNAs and their role in immunity to viral infection.

This session will be carried out in a round-table discussion format, and will cover the following points:

• Surgical training in the US
• Research environment in US and Japan
• Basic researcher vs. surgeon
• Future vision and career path

Everyone is welcome to join us for a hearty discussion!