Marie received her Ph.D. in biological science at the University of Tokyo in 2017, and soon after, she started working at the University at Buffalo, New York. Currently (11.2020-), Marie is an assistant professor at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, but here she writes about her research life in Buffalo, and why she chose Buffalo.
Dr. Marie Saitou is a junior principal investigator at the Centre of Integrative Genetics (CIGENE), Faculty of Biosciences, Norwegian University of Life Sciences.
She is originally from Japan, and did postdoctoral training in the US, and has opened her laboratory in Norway. She entered the University of Tokyo, the most prestigious university in Japan in 2008, where only 20% of students and 10% of STEM-major students were female. Female professors there enthusiastically encouraged her to study abroad to learn about inclusive and diverse academic environments, which led her to seek my postdoctoral fellowship in the United States. Now Marie has her own research group in Norway, where is one of the most advanced countries regarding gender equality and work-life balance. She is trying to lead the field to promote intellectual diversity and interdisciplinarity.
