I visited the lab of Dr. Hideto Takahashi at the Institut de recherches cliniques de Montréal (IRCM) in order to further proceed with ongoing collaborative research. During my trip, I discussed our projects with him and his colleagues and I prepared the draft of our next paper.

I was also given the opportunity to present my research on “Decoding the placenta-to-maternal organs communication” at a special conference at IRCM, and I received a lot of questions at this seminar. In particular, I was able to interact with an expert in RNA biology from IRCM, and was able to explore the possibility of perhaps conducting international collaborative research with him.

Making a presentation at a
special conference at IRCM
 

Photo at Institut de recherches cliniques de Montréal (IRCM)

Furthermore, I was also able to learn about the experimental techniques for neuron culture and binding assay of ligand to neuronal receptors. I have already started to set up these experiments in my lab since returning to Japan. I believe that this technology will have a positive influence on my research regarding the molecular mechanisms on the extracellular vesicles-mediated placenta-to-brain communication.

In conclusion, during this trip, I was able to not only accelerate and facilitate international collaborative research, but also make connections with international researchers.

Finally, I would like to thank the HIRAKU-Global Program for supporting this trip.

Mai INAGAKI, Assistant Professor,
Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Tokushima University