The ASBMR helped Shinsuke connect with other researchers to collaborate with and inspire his scientific enthusiasm for his research on skeletal development and metabolism.
Dr. Shinsuke Ohba is an Associate Professor at The University of Tokyo with a research focus on skeletal development and metabolism. With more than 13 years as an ASBMR member, he shares what has helped him advance his research and career.
How has the ASBMR helped you in your career?
I started my professional career as an oral and maxillofacial surgeon and switched into being a basic researcher after spending a couple of years as a clinician, aiming to establish novel strategies for the treatment of skeletal defects. Since I think that basic understanding of skeletal formation is necessary for the goal, I have been working on transcriptional programs underlying specification and maturation of skeletal cells. The ASBMR Rising Star Award has helped to further expand my study for the comprehensive understanding of the programs and, I believe, getting me closer to my research goal.
As an ASBMR member, what are benefits or resources that have been most valuable to you?
I have attended ASBMR Annual Meetings since 2004 and being there has helped keep me updated on the overall progress of this field. In particular, I have been able to widen my perspectives with the meetings by obtaining cutting-edge knowledge on key clinical studies as well as basic findings in an organized manner. These are important opportunities for me, since they allow me to figure out the significance of basic research, on which others and I worked, in clinical aspects. I have also given a few oral and poster presentations at the meetings, which are always helpful for me to get scientific feedback as well as to build my network in this field.
How have connections with other ASBMR members helped you in your career?
The supervisors of my Ph.D. were ASBMR members and they not only supervised my project, but also discovered the basis of the science I wanted to focus on, both of which are essential for me to develop my career as a basic researcher. After starting my scientific career, I have been collaborating with a couple of ASBMR members. They always give me thoughtful feedback on the project itself. More importantly, their sincere but enthusiastic attitudes to science also inspire my scientific enthusiasm whenever I communicate with them.