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Research Grant

Shiseido Female Researcher Science Grant

Shiseido Female Researcher Science Grant is a research fund to support female researchers, aiming for a leadership position in the future. Based on our belief that supporting female researchers who will be leaders of the next generation will contribute to the advancement of science and technology, we have provided research grants annually to 10 excellent female researchers in a wide variety of fields in natural science* since 2007. *generally referring to science, technology and life sciences. As a company that supports the empowerment of women, Shiseido supports the academic research activities by female researchers from diverse perspective, with broad view of the environment surrounding the female researchers. We welcome unique, creative research projects that have the potential to expand the fields of research.

Key Figures

  • Years of Support for Female Researchers*1

    19

  • Aggregate Number of Applicants*1

    2,870

  • Number of Grants Awarded*1

    189

  • Proportion of Laureates in
    Leadership Roles After Award*2

    31%

  1. *1 From the 1st (2007) to the 19th (2025)
  2. *2 "Leadership Roles" refers to heads of institutions or full professors. The survey covered 175 individuals whose careers could be tracked and who had not reached mandatory retirement age as of the end of December 2025.
List of research grant recipients

Application Guidelines for the 20th Shiseido Female Researcher Science Grant

Purpose

The Shiseido Female Researcher Science Grant contributes to the development of talented female researchers aiming for a leading position in the future by providing support for women conducting world-leading research in the field of natural sciences.

Target Disciplines

Disciplines of natural science (science and engineering or life science fields).
We welcome unique, creative research projects that have the potential to expand the fields of research.

Target Applicants

Female researchers who will be conducting research in the disciplines of natural science at a Japanese university or a research facility besides companies in Japan during the grant period.

  1. (1)Applicants of any age or nationality are welcome.
  2. (2)No references required. This is an open application system and anyone may apply.
  3. (3)The following individuals are not eligible to apply:
    ・Graduate students
    ・Undergraduate students
    ・Those already in a leadership or managerial position (such as professors)
  4. (4)There is no limit on number of applications (number of times one may apply). However, previous grant recipients are ineligible to receive it again.

Grant Amount /
Number of Grants

One million yen per grant / up to 10 grants to be awarded

Grant Funded Research Period

The 20th Grant Period: One year from June 1,2027 to May 31,2028

Uses of Grant

The research grant can be used for research expenses (reagent costs, equipment costs, etc.), as well as expenses necessary to carry out research (childcare expenses when attending academic conferences, employment of research assistants, etc.)
Note 1: Research involving animal experiments may be proposed; however, please be advised that expenses related to animal experiments are not eligible for funding under this research grant. In this context, "animals" refers to vertebrates.
Note 2: Regarding indirect costs (overhead), please follow the specific regulations of your affiliated institution. If your institution requires the inclusion of indirect costs, they must be incorporated into the proposed use of the research grant.

Application Method

The application method has been changed to a Web application from the 12th application.
For details, please read the 20th application guidelines.
Click the new member registration button below to obtain the My Page for the Web application.

Deadline

12:00 p.m. on Thursday, November 12, 2026 (end of registration period)

Evaluation Criteria

External Reviewers and Internal Reviewers objectively assess at Review Committee.

Review Committee

Committee Chair
Yosuke Tojo, Corporate Executive Officer, Chief Officer, Chief Innovation Officer, Global Technology Officer of Shiseido Co., Ltd.

External Reviewers（in alphabetical order）for a detailed biography, please see below.

Professor Akiko Hori of Shibaura Institute of Technology, Associate Professor Ikuko Kakizaki of Hirosaki University, Professor Takashi Kondo of The University of Tokyo, External Expert Committee Member Kimiko Yabe of NARO

Announcement of Evaluation Results

All applicants will be notified of results in or after March 2027. After June 2027 the names of grant recipients and research titles for which they applied will be posted on the site, and a press release will be issued.

Biographies of judges outside Shiseido.（in alphabetical order）

Professor Akiko Hori of Shibaura Institute of Technology

[Biography]

  1. March,2002 Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya University Ph.D.
  2. April.2002-March,2004 Ph.D researcher, Genesis Research Institute, Inc., The University of Tokyo
  3. April,2004-March,2006 JSPS Research Fellow（PD）, The University of Tokyo
  4. April,2006-March,2015 Assistant Professor, Kitasato University
  5. April,2015-March,2020 Associate Professor, Shibaura Institute of Technology
  6. April,2020- Professor, Shibaura Institute of Technology
  7. *October,2008-March,2012 PRESTO researcher , JST
  8. *A recipient of the 8th Shiseido Female Researcher Science Grant

Associate Professor Ikuko Kakizaki of Hirosaki University Graduate School of Medicine

[Biography]

  1. March,1998　Hirosaki University Graduate School of Medicine Ph.D.
  2. April,1998-March,2007　Instructor, Department of Biochemistry, Hirosaki University School of Medicine
  3. April,2007-December,2007　Instructor, Department of Glycotechnology, Center for Advanced Medical Research, Hirosaki University Graduate School of Medicine
  4. January,2008-December,2023　Associate Professor, Department of Glycotechnology, Center for Advanced Medical Research, Hirosaki University Graduate School of Medicine
  5. January,2024-　Associate Professor, Department of Glycotechnology, Hirosaki University Graduate School of Medicine
  6. *July,2003-February,2004　Overseas research fellow, Education Ministry of Japan（Dept. of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, PA, USA）
  7. *A recipient of the 3rd Shiseido Female Researcher Science Grant

Professor Takashi Kondo of Department of Materials Engineering, The University of Tokyo

[Biography]

  1. March,1988　Department of Applied Physics, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo（M. Eng）
  2. April,1988-February,1998　Assistant Professor, Department of Applied Physics, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo
  3. March,1998-January,2010　Associate Professor, Department of Materials Engineering, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo
  4. February,2010-March,2015　Professor, Department of Materials Engineering, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo
  5. April,2015-September,2025　Professor, Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo
  6. April,2019-September,2025　Vice Director, Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo
  7. October,2025-　Professor, Department of Materials Engineering, The University of Tokyo
  8. *May,1995　 Department of Applied Physics, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo　 Ph.D.
  9. *November,2002-March,2006　PRESTO researcher , JST

Kimiko Yabe, Ph.D.
External Expert Committee Member of the Climate Change and Mycotoxin Consortium, Institute of Food Research, NARO

[Biography]

  1. March,1982 Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, The University of Tokyo Ph.D.
  2. April,1982-March,1984 Assistant professor, The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo
  3. April,1985-March,1988 Researcher, National Institute of Animal Health (NIAH), MAFF
  4. April,1988-March,1997 Senior Researcher, NIAH , MAFF
  5. April,1997-March,1999 Senior Researcher, National Food Research Institute (NFRI) , MAFF
  6. April,1999-March,2001 Head, Cell Function Laboratory, NFRI, MAFF
  7. April,2001-March,2006 Head, Cell Function Laboratory, NFRI, National Agriculture and Food Research　Organization (NARO)
  8. April,2006-March,2007 Chief, Cell Function Laboratory, NFRI, NARO
  9. April,2007-March,2009 Research Management Counselor, Headquarters, NARO
  10. April,2009-March,2015 Director, Food Biotechnology Division, NFRI, NARO
  11. April,2015-March,2016 Professor, Department of Environmental and Food Sciences, Faculty of Environmental and Information Sciences, Fukui University of Technology (FUT)
  12. April,2016-March,2020 Dean, Department Chief, Professor, Department of Environmental and Food Sciences, Faculty of Environmental and Information Sciences, FUT
  13. April,2020-March,2023 Dean, Department Chief, Professor, Department of Applied Chemistry and Food Science, Faculty of Environmental and Information Sciences, FUT
  14. April,2023-March,2025 Dean, Department Chief, Professor, Department of Applied Chemistry and Food Science, Faculty of Environmental Studies, FUT
  15. April,2025-External Expert Committee Member of the Climate Change and Mycotoxin Consortium, Institute of Food Research, NARO
  16. *February,1994-January,1995 Visiting Researcher, University of California, San Francisco, USA

Inquiries regarding applications

Please read the following and send us an inquiry via email.

Handling of Personal Information

  • ・Shiseido Co., Ltd. (hereinafter “the Company”) uses personal information submitted in applications (hereinafter “personal information”) only to review applications, to manage the grant, to respond to inquiries, and to communicate information from its offices in accordance with its Privacy Policy (https://corp.shiseido.com/en/privacy-policy/). If the names of joint researchers are included on the application form, it is the applicant’s responsibility to obtain their consent for the purpose of use of personal information as listed here. Personal information will be appropriately kept in accordance with the Privacy Policy and internal rules of the Company under a strict management system. The Company may outsource the management of personal information to a third party to use the information for the above purposes, and the outsources may contact applicants. In addition, if information is requested by public agencies pursuant to the provisions of the law or for the public interest based on these provisions, the minimum necessary information may be disclosed or provided.
  • ・Requests for disclosure, modification, and deletion of personal information should be addressed to the Shiseido Female Researcher Science Grant Office . Requests will be handled promptly after identity verification. For details, refer to the Privacy Policy of the Company.
Make an inquiry via email

Average number of applicants over the past 3 years (17th–19th)

117 applicants

  • Field

    （％）
    100
    50
    0

  • Permanent / Fixed-term

    （％）
    100
    50
    0

  • Affiliated Institution

    （％）
    100
    50
    0

  • Age

    （％）
    100
    50
    0

  • Job Grade*

    （％）
    100
    50
    0
    • * Classified based on the "Job Title-Job Grade Correspondence Table" published by JST
 

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