Dr. Takaomi Saido Head, Laboratory for Proteolytic Neuroscience As a high school boy, Takaomi Saido, now Head of the Laboratory for Proteolytic Neuroscience, had a vague idea that he wanted to become a researcher in some life science related field in the future. When he was a second grader, he wanted to do something different from other students and went to the United States for one year of study. Thanks to skipping a few grades, he had already finished high school before coming back to Japan. Subsequently, he entered the University of Tsukuba where he majored in biophysics. "At university, I studied the hardest of any time in my life" he recalled. "Dormitory life away from Tokyo helped me to cut by more than half the living expenses normally required in Tokyo. I spent all of my surplus money on books. I think I probably read about 2,000 books in various fields. Tsukuba was a young university at that time and I was able enjoy close personal relations with a number of aspiring teachers and also had many student friends, with whom I would often engage in passionate discussions until dawn. I was able to study to the maximum extent possible at Tsukuba and what I gained there is now an invaluable asset for me." After completing a doctorate course in the Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Science at the University of Tokyo, he joined the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science (RINSHOKEN) and began research into proteolytic enzymes. According to him, it was that research that awakened his interest in human aging and disease. "I thought they could be interesting research subjects," he said, "and I was particularly attracted to these areas because such research seems to go a long way toward contributing to society." The focus of his research shifted to cerebral diseases when one of his theses led to an invitation by Masayuki Yokota of the Department of Neurosurgery at the Hyogo College of Medicine to conduct joint research. The target was further narrowed down to Alzheimerﾕs disease when Kei Maruyama, now a Saitama Medical School professor, joined his institute as a fellow researcher. Then, he came to know and began working with Yasuo Ihara of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Tokyo, an international authority on cerebral diseases. "I had a vague interest in cerebral aging while still preoccupied with the thought that aging is a natural phenomenon," he recalled, adding, "but when I came to realize that aging has its own mechanism, my interest grew beyond control. What I am now as a researcher owes much to the strong encouragement I received and fortunate encounters with the right people during the course of my research which has been so fascinating to me." In 1997, Saido moved from RINSHOKEN to RIKEN as a team leader when BSI was established. "The project I envisaged had to deal with radioisotopes that required facilities of substantial scale," he said. "Thinking of our challenging task of shedding light on the human brain, I can safely assert that it was a task that could only be done at RIKEN in Japan and at similar institutes elsewhere in the world." "As soon as I joined BSI, I launched my first project, only to realize that I was faced with the most challenging period in my career," he recalled. "When we placed an outside order for the development of a special reagent, we had to wait for six costly months before receiving a report that the development attempt had ended in failure. We had no other options than doing the job ourselves. Day after day, we had heated discussions while attacking the tough problem. Eventually, we were able to develop the reagent, but barely within six months." There were often times when fortune came more easily. "One time there was a definite need for mice with a specific manipulated gene, we thought it would take a year or two to create the special rodents. Fortunately though, we were able to cut down much of the development time. We happened to find a thesis reporting that a researcher in a totally different field had already created the exact mice we needed and eventually we were able to have the researcher collaborate with us." Even half a year can be crucial because all research teams in BSI are subject to administrative reviews of their achievements once every five years which affects the very existence of their labs. "Later, one of our findings was printed in a magazine and I had a renewed feeling that good and bad luck are closely interwoven and that nothing can be done except by overcoming misfortune through our own efforts." His team now has 16 members. As its leader, he is particularly concerned with maintaining good human relations, strong vitality and absolute safety within his team. "I believe they should be essential team objectives," he said. "At BSI, team leaders are allowed to have private offices. But I donﾕt have one. In order to maintain good communication with my staff of researchers I must work right among them," he said, adding jokingly that his presence might be an annoyance to some of them. "But it should help their research." According to Saido, the desks close to him do not belong to any s pecific people. His policy is to keep researchers in any new projects close to his desk. Once their projects get under way, he said, they are moved to desks farther away for increased freedom. "Sitting close to the boss may cause emotional stress," he admitted, "but the increased opportunity to overhear conversations between the boss and other people must be helpful." From his own experience there is one drawback, if any. Photo shows the Lab. member (April, 1999) before the lab moved to the BSI Central Building now being used. The third to the left in the front row is Dr. Saido. "My way of speaking often became closer to that of my boss," he said. "Personnel liquidity is expected to become greater not only at BSI. We will have to cope with it by developing a system that allows for faster communication with staff," he said. At BSI, he has gained greater power and a greater responsibility as well. Recently, though, BSI has been in the public eye in many ways and he confessed that the stress of this was beyond what he had ever imagined. But he remains undaunted. "I want to do a job that will contribute to the society 100 times or even 1,000 times the money we spend on research," he concluded.