Threading bonds and creating traditions: a Wolfson RF’s experiences in Japan
“Kizuna” in Japanese refers to lasting bonds between people, connections built on mutual trust and support. This May, it was the spirit of kizuna which brought a small group of scientists from Oxford to the annual meeting of the Asian Association for the Study of Diabetes (AASD) held in Osaka, Japan.
Dr Daniela Nasteska, a Research Fellow at Wolfson, and Dr Takaaki Murakami from Kyoto University, Japan, organised a diabetes research meeting held at the margins of AASD. The event called “Young Researcher Initiated Focus Group Meeting on Islet-cell and Incretin Biology 2026” brought together DPhil students and early-career researchers with experts in the field, giving them space to share and discuss the latest achievements in diabetes research. The meeting was first of its kind, not only at AASD, which this year was held jointly with the annual meeting of the Japanese Diabetes Society, but a first for any larger international conference. Early career researchers are rarely given a chance to shine in front of their mentors and role models, and this is exactly what Daniela and Taka hoped to achieve.
The idea was born at a food night market in Taipei, Taiwan, while attending the 2025 annual meeting of AASD. With a shared dream and working on the opposite sides for the world for a year, they built the meeting from scratch and managed to convince leading experts in the field to join.
Prof David Hodson from the University of Oxford, Prof Yutaka Seino from Kansai Electric Power Hospital, Osaka, Prof Daisuke Yabe from Kyoto University, and Prof Young Min Cho from Seoul National University delivered special lectures at the meeting and assessed the presentations of the junior researchers.
There were vibrant presentations focusing on different areas of diabetes research. The dynamic talks painted a rich picture of the research trends in Europe and Asia, inviting enthusiastic discussions on shared findings and differences between the continents.
The evening concluded with a get together of all participants and for many of them, a first opportunity to speak to leading experts. The shared excitement and pleasure of discussing science together for the first time was both heartwarming and motivating-the evening flew by and few were willing to leave.
As a result of the successful meeting, the organisation committee of AASD decided to include the Young Researcher Initiated Focus Group Meeting in the regular AASD programme every year. Daniela’s and Taka’s dream of creating a platform for early career researchers grew beyond Taipei and Osaka, now due for a repeat at the AASD 2027 meeting in Seoul, South Korea.
Traditions begin when “kizuna” is first created and they last when people keep coming together and keep adding new threads to it. It may have been University of Oxford and Kyoto University breathing life into this new tradition, but it will be the young diabetes researchers across the world who will keep it alive. We hope to see as many as possible next year in Korea!
