Dr. Keiko Yamaji

Professor, Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, BioSpace Resource Science Specialty Program

Born in Mito City, Ibaraki Prefecture, she acquired her PhD in Agricultural Chemistry from Hokkaido University in 2000, did a postdoctoral fellowship at the Finnish Forest Research Institute in 2001, and a JSPS PD fellowship at the Tohoku Branch of the Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute in 2003. In 2005, she started research on plants and functional microorganisms native to former mine sites at Tsukuba University, where she discovered that functional microorganisms are involved in the heavy metal tolerance mechanism of native plants and is currently investigating their use in greening technology. She also received the KOBASHI Award, and Focus Systems Award for her proposal, Imagine the Microbial-Capsule during the Tech Planter Agri Tech Grand Prix in 2022.

Dr. Keita Nishizawa

Assistant Professor, Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo

Dr. Nishizawa acquired his PhD in Environmental Studies from Yokohama National University. He specializes in plant ecology and has been studying various aspects of the mechanisms that maintain plant diversity. Since his student days, he has studied the origins and roles of ecosystems in pristine natural environments, such as the natural forests of Shiretoko, Hokkaido, and the wilds of the Canadian Arctic. Since earning his degree, he has applied his expertise to the challenges of elucidating the origins of global-scale diversity and exploring the connections between nature and society. He is the recipient of the 59th Leave a Nest Grant Forest Science Award.

Dr. Tomohiro Kondo

Associate Professor, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University

Dr. Kondo acquired his PhD in Agronomy from the Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, while specializing in tropical agroecology. He has conducted research on the effects of cultivation environment and management methods on the growth of tropical fruit trees, especially passion fruit, avocado, durian, and cacao. In recent years, he has been conducting research and experiments on slash-and-burn farming in the Kyushu mountains and on indigenous farming methods and crops, to consider how we can continue to use the mountains sustainably.