Thoughts on research

I think of my research as being like a steady but stimulating and rewarding quest, a walk toward the summits of the Tateyama Mountain range or seeking the source of the Kurobe River. Our walk keeps up a brisk pace––indeed, phytochemical research has developed and expanded rapidly in recent years, thanks to next-generation sequencing, mass spectrometry, and genome editing approaches. We start in a dense forest, as conventional natural product chemistry comprises a bewilderingly large collection of diverse chemical structures and activities where it’s difficult to see beyond the trees. Much like cresting a hill and seeing a new vista, however, the introduction of molecular biology, genomics, and metabolomics has allowed us to investigate metabolic systems in the context of plant biology. And, like we might seek the origin of the Kurobe River, the fundamental question of our research concerns the origin of chemical diversity––specifically why plants evolved to synthesize and accumulate natural products specific to each species or genus. At the Center for Medicinal Sciences in Toyama, a city closely associated with Japanese Nobel laureates, we continue our quest for understanding, using novel approaches to develop valuable biological resources and contribute to the health and longevity of all members of society.