SHORT ATTACHMENT
LOH QIUTING (Master student)
3 weeks (2013)
Functional Polymers Lab (Kansai University)
It was a wonderful and fulfilling 3- weeks stay in Funtional Polymers Laboratory in Kansai University. During the stay, I learned to design DNA origami and they allowed me to have some hands-on experiments without any hesitation too. Despite the work in the lab, I was able to experience the Japanese lab culture which is totally different from those we have in Malaysia. It was exciting to see how these enthusiastic Japanese students get themselves involved in every single discussion that they have during the lab meetings. I think that this is something that we, Malaysian students, should learn from them. Though the language barrier was huge, yet, the students tried their very best to teach me and guide me throughout the stay. Going to a foreign country without knowing its language was rather challenging for me. Back then, my phone had no internet connection when I was off campus, thus, Google Translate and Google Map were not accessible at all. All I did was just body language and thank goodness, I was able to find my way back to my dorm!
I would like to take this opportunity to show my greatest gratitude to Kuzuya-sensei for hosting me in his lab and his students for the warmest care. Last but not least, I would like to thank Dr. Lim for giving me such great opportunity!
CHAN SOO KHIM (Ph.D student)
5 weeks (2016)
Functional Polymers Lab (Kansai University)
I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Lim for initiating my short attachment in Kansai University as well as Prof. Akinori Kuzuya for hosting me. Also, thank you very much to all Kinouken members for guiding me throughout my attachment. The 5 weeks attachment in Kansai University was a dream-come-true moment for me !
During my attachment, I was given chance to hands-on G-quadruplex hydrogel production from the pegylated G-quadruplex DNA oligos. It was a very fun experience to see the sol-gel transition from DNA oligo solution into solid gel-like hydrogel. Also, I was taught to design DNA origami using M13 phage genomic DNA as backbone. What’s more, I had the opportunity to use some of the sophisticated instrument such as circular dichroism, and atomic force microscopy in experiments.
This attachment was indeed an eye-opener experience for me. Japanese had showed me their meticulous in work and the intensive working environment created to uplift their research quality. This valuable experience has equipped me to perform better in research.
