Yoshiyuki Arai

Abbott Japan
Diagnostics & Instruments Division

Q1. What do you do?

 I work for a healthcare company for development of in vitro diagnostics. Although this compnay is global, it has an R&D base in Japan as well, where I am involved in research and development. Recently, I have come to understand that "research" and "development" are two completely different things. In research, a goal is to publish an academic paper or patent for a proof of concept. In development and commercialization, you have to make lots of steady efforts and incur lots of costs, which has changed the way I look at the products that are out there.

Q2. What have you applied to your current work from what you learned at Nagai Lab, and how has it been utilized.

 Where I work (and I am sure other R&D departments as well), we are expected to report at least one patentable technology per year, and thankfully, I had the experience of submitting several invention reports during my time at Nagai Lab. I have been able to use this information both for myself and for teaching. Also, I don't usually have the opportunity to use English, but sometimes I have to have a video conference with representatives from the head office (Chicago), and sometimes I have to give a presentation when important people from Chicago come here. My English is still not very good, but I think I am getting by since I had meetings and seminars in English at Nagai Lab.

Q3. Message to juniors

 In my division, there are many people in various positions and have backgrounds, from young to senior. People who find problems and try various things on their own will promote to the next level, while those who only do what they are told and don't try to gain knowledge and skills on their own will be left behind. At Nagai Lab, I think you will naturally acquire the mindset of doing things on your own. You may think it is a lot of work, but I hope you will always move forward. Although I was not able to do so, I believe that if you always try to "exceed" the expectations of Prof. Nagai and staff members (not just as expected), you will be able to become an active person wherever you go.

What is the Most Important Thing for Life, SEIBUTSU BUTSURI, 60, 359-361, 2020