From Childhood Dreams to Virus Research: A Journey Inspired by Family and Passion.
Kitamura:
Dr. Urata, you originally come from a background in pharmaceutical sciences and are now conducting research on viruses. Could you tell us about the path your career has taken so far?
Urata:
I attended Toin Gakuen, a private preparatory school in Kanagawa Prefecture, where there was a natural expectation for students to aim for university. When I was a child, I watched a drama called “If He Turns Around, He’s There” starring Yuji Oda, who also graduated from Toin Gakuen, and it made me want to become a doctor. However, by the time I was in high school, rather than being set on going to medical school, I was more focused on entering university as quickly as possible and worked hard to pass the entrance exams on my first attempt. During that time, I applied through a recommendation-based admission process to the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Hokkaido University (Hokudai), and by chance, I was accepted. That’s how I ended up studying pharmaceutical sciences at Hokudai.
Looking back now at my high school yearbook, I wrote that I wanted to “develop cancer drugs,” so I must have had a desire to be involved in drug development. That said, I didn’t have a strong intention to become a researcher at the time. At university, I spent four years as a player on the university’s American football team. Later, while in graduate school, I also served as a coach for Hokudai’s team for two years and joined a semi-professional team.
At the time, the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences was a four-year program, and students were assigned to a lab in their fourth year. But I soon realized it would be difficult to balance lab work with my commitments to the football team. So, I decided to take a one-year leave of absence starting in my fourth year. I retired from the team after a loss in the North Japan Championship in November. Since I had devoted my entire student life to football up until that point, I was hit with a sense of emptiness afterward. Still, I felt I had to return to university, so I re-enrolled the following April and was assigned to a lab.
When I began doing research, I initially joined a lab not related to infectious diseases, but rather one focused on Alzheimer’s disease. I chose it more for the good atmosphere than for the specific research topic, but once I started, I found the research very engaging.
Kitamura:
So your initial research was in Alzheimer’s disease, not viruses! What led you to shift into virology?
Urata:
In many science faculties, it’s common for fourth-year students to continue on to graduate school and stay in the same lab. But for me, it was only in my fourth year that I started thinking seriously about my future. While I found research enjoyable, I began to question whether I should continue working on the same topic. At that point, I considered both getting a job and continuing my studies.
As I weighed the options—whether to work for a pharmaceutical company or become a researcher—I recalled how I had always looked up to the profession of research, having seen my father, an economics scholar, at work from a young age. In the end, I decided to aim for a career as a researcher. If I was going to do research, I wanted to commit to it fully. But the next question was: what would I dedicate myself to studying?
While I did find Alzheimer’s disease fascinating, it is an extremely complex field, and I was worried that I might hit a dead end in the future. So I started thinking about changing directions. I asked myself: what field would offer an inexhaustible range of research topics? That’s when infectious diseases came to mind.
I decided to pursue graduate studies in that field. However, the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences didn’t have labs dedicated to infectious diseases, while the School of Medicine did. So I enrolled in a master’s program in the Graduate School of Medicine and began researching human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1).
Kitamura:
So your virology research began with HIV-1. Have you continued working on viruses since then?
Urata:
Yes. During my master’s studies at the Graduate School of Medicine at Hokkaido University, I met Associate Professor Jiro Yasuda, who would later become my mentor. Professor Yasuda is now the Deputy Director of the National Research Center for the Control and Prevention of Infectious Diseases at Nagasaki University, as well as a professor in the Department of Emerging Virus Research and the Department of Emerging Infectious Diseases at the Institute of Tropical Medicine.
Shortly after I began my HIV-1 research, Professor Yasuda was transferred to the National Research Institute of Police Science under the National Police Agency. At the time, incidents like anthrax bioterrorism were making headlines globally, and “bioterrorism” began to gain attention in Japan as well. Recognizing the national need for stronger countermeasures, the Japanese government decided to establish a new research lab within the National Police Agency, and Professor Yasuda was appointed as its director.
I had a deep admiration for Professor Yasuda’s approach to research. He’s incredibly sharp, but not the type to stay in the lab all day. His attitude was: “If there’s nothing left to do in the lab, just go home.” That kind of efficient and focused working style made a strong impression on me. Until then, I had assumed researchers spent endless hours in the lab, which made me hesitant about pursuing that path. But seeing Professor Yasuda’s style felt ideal to me, and I decided I wanted to learn from him both professionally and personally.
While remaining enrolled at Hokkaido University, I conducted my doctoral research for three years at the National Research Institute of Police Science in Chiba Prefecture. It was during this time that my focus shifted from HIV-1 to viruses with higher pathogenicity. Back then, there were very few researchers in Japan seriously studying these types of viruses. I was determined—if I couldn’t publish any papers under Professor Yasuda’s guidance within those three years, I was prepared to give up on being a researcher. Fortunately, I was able to publish four first-author papers during that time, which was a great outcome.
Afterward, I started to feel a strong desire to work in the United States. I began looking for positions there and eventually joined the Scripps Research Institute, where I conducted research for three years.
Kitamura:
That must have been a big decision—to pursue research work in the U.S.!
Urata:
Yes, absolutely. When I began my PhD, I had a strong conviction that I had to go to the U.S. someday. If I was going to study viruses, I wanted to do so in the most advanced environment possible—and that meant the U.S. I even thought that if I couldn’t make it to the U.S., I might have to give up on a research career altogether.
One of the key terms that shaped my path was “Arenavirus,” which includes Lassa virus among others. I was fortunate to land a position under a leading expert in this field, and so I began conducting research at the Scripps Research Institute in the U.S.
Scripps is an extremely vibrant research institution that has produced many Nobel laureates. It’s located near several other major institutes such as the Salk Institute, where Dr. Susumu Tonegawa once worked; the University of California, San Diego; the Burnham Institute; and the La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, which Dr. Kimishige Ishizaka helped establish. Being able to conduct research in such a stimulating environment was a truly valuable experience.
Initially, I even considered permanently settling in the U.S., but after spending time there, I began to feel the harsh realities of surviving in such a highly competitive world. Around that time, Professor Yasuda became a professor at the Institute of Tropical Medicine at Nagasaki University and offered me a position to return as an assistant professor. The timing was perfect, so I decided to return to Japan.
Currently, I serve as an independent Associate Professor and lead my own lab at the National Research Center for the Control and Prevention of Infectious Diseases at Nagasaki University.
Highly Pathogenic Viruses: The Key to Safety Lies in Knowledge and Proper Handling
Kitamura:
Could you tell us about your current work?
Urata:
My main affiliation is with the BSL-4* Human Resource Development Division. I also hold a concurrent position in the research division, so I am, of course, actively involved in research as well. The BSL-4 Human Resource Development Division is a unique unit within our university’s National Research Center for the Control and Prevention of Infectious Diseases. Its mission is to train personnel capable of safely handling pathogens within BSL-4 facilities.
The reason I am involved in this work is because, after joining Nagasaki University, I underwent training at two BSL-4 facilities—one in South Africa and one in the United States. I now use the knowledge and experience I gained there to give back to Nagasaki University, taking on the role of an instructor. Our university’s BSL-4 facility is Japan’s first experimental facility for education and research purposes that uses special positive pressure suits—similar to space suits—for working with pathogens. On a daily basis, I train faculty and staff members of the research center in how to operate the positive pressure suits and conduct experiments while wearing them.
* BSL-4: Biosafety Level 4. This is the highest level of biosafety containment, designed for laboratories that handle highly pathogenic viruses such as Ebola or Lassa virus. It involves strict safety protocols to prevent accidental exposure.
Kitamura:
When you’re working with highly pathogenic viruses in experiments, what precautions do you personally take?
Urata:
No matter what kind of experiment it is, we always handle viruses inside a biosafety cabinet. Viruses can cause disease if they infect a person, of course. But if handled correctly, the risk of infection is essentially zero. There’s no need to be excessively afraid—as long as you fully understand the nature of the virus and manage it properly within the biosafety cabinet, infection simply won’t occur.
What’s important is having accurate knowledge, not being overly fearful, and always working calmly and carefully during experiments.
Dreaming Big: Becoming the World’s Top Researcher in Arenavirus Studies
Kitamura:
What do you find most interesting or rewarding about your current work?
Urata:
What I enjoy most is the opportunity to constantly learn new things. In the case of arenaviruses, not many researchers are working on them, so there’s still a vast amount we don’t know. I have a good grasp of who’s doing what in the field globally, and within that context, making new discoveries is very exciting. I wasn’t particularly fond of studying when I was younger, but now I find joy in reading papers, identifying what remains unknown, formulating hypotheses, testing them through experiments, and sometimes being the first person in the world to learn something new when the results turn out as expected. That sense of discovery is incredibly thrilling. My ultimate goal is to know everything there is to know about arenaviruses.
Kitamura:
So your goal is to become the foremost expert on arenaviruses!
Urata:
Yes, my dream is to become the world’s leading researcher in arenavirus studies. It’s hard to define exactly what being “the best” means, but I want to publish papers that get cited in textbooks and do work that gives me the confidence to say I know the most about arenaviruses and that I’ve contributed the most to the advancement of virology. At the same time, I know I can’t achieve that alone. That’s why I’m currently training students and researchers, so we can pursue this dream together and share the joy of discovery. I truly want to give my all toward becoming the best in the world.
Kitamura:
What do you think is the significance of Japan contributing to tropical medicine?
Urata:
Honestly, I don’t think we need to be bound by the label “tropical medicine.” It feels like we’ve created a small, exclusive community by using the term “tropical,” and that may not be necessary. With global warming, the meaning and definition of tropical medicine may change—or the term itself may disappear. Rather than being fixated on the term, I believe we should view it as just one part of medicine or infectious disease research. Anyone who can contribute to the field should do so, regardless of nationality or location. I don’t think Japan has a special obligation here. I believe in taking a broader, more global perspective.
Kitamura:
Lastly, do you have any advice for students in the Tropical Medicine Student Association?
Urata:
Let’s study viruses! Research is incredibly fun—but it takes a lot of hard work to reach the point where you can truly enjoy it. Even once you get there, the challenges continue. But once you’ve experienced that excitement, it’s hard to walk away from it. As students, I hope you pursue what you love, and if research happens to be on that path, then embrace it.
From left to right: Yuma Yasunaka, Kento Oshiro, Dr. Shuzo Urata, Aika Kitamura, and Yuya Kondo
Profile of Interview Participants
Dr. Shuzo Urata
Associate Professor, National Research Center for the Control and prevention of Infectious Diseases, Nagasaki University/Department of Medical and Applied Virology. After graduating from the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Hokkaido University, he obtained both his master’s and doctoral degrees there. He has conducted research on highly pathogenic viruses at the National Research Institute of Police Science in Japan and at The Scripps Research Institute in the United States. His area of expertise is arenaviruses. Hobbies include watching sports, listening to music, coffee brewing, cooking, comedy, and reading.
Aika Kitamura
Graduated from the School of Life Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Tottori University in March 2025.
First-year master’s student at the Graduate School of Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nagasaki University (from October 2025).
She aspires to contribute to the fight against neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) through basic research and aims to conduct research that directly addresses local needs in the field. Her research interests include schistosomiasis, basic research, and molecular epidemiology. Her favorite pastime is traveling abroad.
