Yasunori Saheki has no regrets about moving from the United States in 2016 to the relatively new Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine in Singapore. “It was an excellent decision,” he says. “The school has grown rapidly and there is a momentum and a passion to make it an intensive place for research and education. In the last year alone, we recruited 17 faculty members for a total of 67.”
He says that while working as a postdoctoral researcher in the US, he was less exposed to science that was conducted in Europe, Asia or other countries. “In the US you typically see speakers only coming from other institutes in the country,” he says. “Itis more narrowly focused.”
He now encourages students to spend time away from their home country. “It broadens your perspective on the world. There is so much we can learn from other countries to improve and grow,” he says.
During his studies at the Okayama University Medical School in Japan for his MD, Yasunori Saheki became increasingly interested in fundamental research. “I started to spend time after school hours to do laboratory attachments,” he says. Encouraged to go to the US, he obtained his PhD at Rockefeller University and worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Yale before moving to Singapore.
His lab researches cellular lipid homeostasis and how it is used by neurons to control brain function. Saheki says his current focus is to identify key molecules and principles that mediate cellular lipid transport. “We want to better understand how cells maintain a unique distribution of lipids as dysregulation of this process is often linked to neurodegenerative disorders,” he says.
Saheki was selected as an EMBO Global Investigator in 2020 and highly values the opportunities it offers for networking and collaboration. “Through the encouragement and support that I have received, I have been able to focus more deeply on my research interests, and I was recently appointed as a National Research Foundation Investigator in Singapore, which provides substantial research funding for five years,” he says.
“It has broadened my perspective on science and how I engage with other scientists,” Saheki says. “With EMBO’s support, I have had valuable opportunities to connect with scientists around the world, which has significantly influenced how I see science as a whole. Diversity is truly celebrated.”
