Announcement of 10 Grant Recipients for 10th Shiseido Female Researcher Science Grant

Shiseido Company, Limited (hereinafter “Shiseido”) has selected 10 grant recipients for the 10th Shiseido Female Researcher Science Grant that supports female researchers who will lead the next generation (total number of applicants: 193 people). The grant award ceremony is scheduled to be held on Friday, July 7th. The recipients will each receive a grant of 1 million yen from Shiseido. Going forward, Shiseido will continue to support outstanding female researchers in pursuing their research activities and contribute to nurturing female researchers who will play a leading role in science.

Background to the Establishment of the Shiseido Female Researcher Science Grant

Female researchers in Japan account for 15.3% of total researchers, marking the highest percentage on record, but that is still significantly lower than in other countries (e.g., 40.3% in Russia which ranked first, and 37.4% in the U.K. at the second place).*1 It was also noted that this proportion tends to decrease in more senior positions.*2 One of the reasons for this disparity is that women are more susceptible than men to life stages such as giving birth, childcare, and taking care of elderly parents, while at the same time the support infrastructure is insufficient. In view of these circumstances, Shiseido established this Shiseido Female Researcher Science Grant in 2007 with the purpose of supporting the research activities of female researchers specializing in natural science who are aiming to be leaders in their respective fields.
*1 Based on the Survey of Research and Development 2016, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
*2 Based on the White Paper on Gender Equality 2016, Cabinet Office.

Download Small Image[17.2KB]

Supporting Female Researchers Who Will Play a Leading Role in the Future

In order to extend support to the largest possible pool of applicants, Shiseido does not set age limits and has expanded research areas to encompass all natural science research. Shiseido allows these funds to be used to hire babysitters while on business trip, or research assistants, etc. to support female researchers to continue their research free of concerns about their particular life stage.
Winning an award of this grant contributed to women moving up a career ladder in and outside of academia. Nearly half of 89 past recipients were promoted after receiving this grant.
Chairman of the grant committee and Shiseido’s chief research and development officer Mr. Youichi Shimatani said: “I am very excited to see the recipients of Shiseido Female Researcher Science Grant promoting and developing their research and playing an active role as leaders in their fields. I hope that our ongoing support through this grant will contribute to increasing the number of female researchers, which is still limited in Japan compared to other nations, and also provide researchers with new opportunities in communication and collaboration, as well as diversification of research activities.”

9th grant presentation ceremony

Download Small Image[59.5KB] Download Large Image[949KB]

10th Shiseido Female Researcher Science Grant: Outline of Grant Award Ceremony

Date:
July 7th, 2017, Friday, 10:00 – 12:20

Place:
Space FS Shiodome (Shiodome FS Building 3F, 1-1-16 Higashi-Shimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo)
Ceremony Agenda:
・Greeting by Ceremony host (Youichi Shimatani, Chairman of the Grant Committee, Chief Research and Development Officer, Shiseido Co., Ltd.)
・Commemorative trophy presentation / Speeches by the 10th and 9th Grant recipients
・Congratulatory speech by outside committee member (Dr. Takashi Kondo, the Grant Committee member, Professor at The University of Tokyo)
・Keynote address ‘Hail the Winners!’
　　[Dr. Izumi Iwakura, Associate Professor at Kanagawa University (5th Grant recipient)]
　 [Dr. Miho Yanagisawa, Associate Professor at Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (5th Grant recipient)]

10th Shiseido Female Researcher Science Grant: List of Grant Recipients

Name
Affiliated Institution
Post

Akiko Shoji, Ph.D.
Graduate School of Fisheries Sciences, Hokkaido University
JSPS Postdoctoral Fellow

Ayaka Sakata, Ph.D.
Research Organization of Information and Systems, The Institute of Statistical Mathematics
Assistant Professor

Hisae Tateishi-Karimata, Ph.D.
Konan University, Frontier Institute for Biomolecular Engineering Research (FIBER)
Assistant Professor

Mai Bando,Ph. D.　
Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics,Graduate School of Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Kyushu University
Associate Professor

Mizue Mizoshiri, Ph.D.
Micro-Nano Mechanical Science and Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya University
Assistant Professor

Natsumi Ageta-Ishihara, Ph.D.
Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University
Lecturer

Ruri Hidema, Ph.D.
Department of Chemical Science and Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Kobe University
Assistant Professor

Soyoung Park, Ph.D.
Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University
Assistant Professor

Toyoko Suzuki, Dr. Eng.
Department of Chemical Science and Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Kobe University
Research Associate

Yukari Oda,Ph.D.
Department of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Kyushu University
Assistant Professor