Shinya Yamanaka Interview (page: 4 / 6) Embryonic Stem Cell Research	Print Interview

Dr. Yamanaka, we'd like to ask a few questions about your childhood. Where were you born and what was your childhood like?

Shinya Yamanaka: I was born in Osaka, Japan. It was 45 years ago. My father has a small factory in Osaka, and we lived next to his factory, so I was surrounded by many types of machines. Even as a child, my hobby was using those machines. I was a kind of technical person from the very beginning.

Did you have any brothers and sisters?

Shinya Yamanaka: Yes, I have a sister. She is an English teacher in Japan.

Is she older or younger?

Shinya Yamanaka: She's seven years older than I am.

When you were growing up, did you get a lot of encouragement from your parents and your family?

Shinya Yamanaka: Yes. My father and my mother encouraged me to do whatever I wanted to do. That was very good for me. You know, I was a doctor before I moved to basic science. I didn't have any physicians in my family, but since my father told me I can do whatever I want, that was why I decided to... I decided to be a doctor.

Growing up in Osaka, did you like school or did you struggle with academics?

Shinya Yamanaka: I liked school pretty much. I liked to study, and I also liked to play some sports. I played judo. It's a traditional Japanese sport. So yeah, I liked my school pretty much.

Did you gravitate towards math and science at an early age? Did you enjoy reading?

Shinya Yamanaka: I remember I liked math and science much better than reading.

Were there any books in particular that you really liked as a young person?

Shinya Yamanaka: I remember I read many books about physicians. Not a novel, but a real story. I was very interested in how physicians were trying to help patients.

When did you decide to study medicine? Was it something you decided in university?

Get the Flash Player to see this video. Shinya Yamanaka: Even when I was a high school student I wanted to be a physician. That was because, as I mentioned, I played judo. And I got injured so many times -- I fractured myself more than ten times -- so I saw an orthopedic surgeon so many times. It was very natural for me to become a doctor.

Were your parents supportive of your ambitions?

Shinya Yamanaka: Yes, they were very supportive. My father had a small company, and I was the only boy in the family. It's kind of surprising he didn't want me to take over his job. Instead, he encouraged me to be a doctor.

Was that typical in Japan at the time?

Shinya Yamanaka: No, I don't think so. Many fathers want at least one of their boys to take over his own company. It's very typical in Japan. But he knew how difficult it is to run a small company. He thought I would not be good at running a company, so instead he encouraged me to be a doctor.

Besides your parents, were there others who supported you when you were growing up? In the university, or perhaps a judo coach?

Shinya Yamanaka: Yeah. I remember especially my judo coach. He was very supportive.

Was it really because of all of these broken bones from judo that you thought of becoming an orthopedic surgeon?

Shinya Yamanaka: Yes, just a very simple reason.

Didn't you play rugby, too?

Shinya Yamanaka: Rugby, I played only three years. I played judo almost 15 years. I have a black belt.

Was this a particular type of judo?

Shinya Yamanaka: Well, I don't know how much you know about judo, but it's like wrestling. There's only one type of judo.

Did you think that from a very early age you were always destined to be in science?

Shinya Yamanaka: When I was a junior high school student, I was very interested in science. At that time, I wanted to become a scientist as well. After I went to senior high school, being a doctor was my dream, so I didn't imagine I would be a scientist.

And now you're one of the most famous scientists in the world. Did you go to university in Osaka?

Shinya Yamanaka: No. Actually, I did not graduate from Osaka University. I graduated from Kobe University. It's like two hours by car from Osaka to Kobe.

Now you're working in San Francisco again. Was there an incentive for you to leave Japan? Was it simply the opportunity to work in the lab in San Francisco?

Shinya Yamanaka: I did my post-doc training in San Francisco, and I'm very grateful to the city of San Francisco and the institute where I did my post-doc training. So it was kind of a dream to come back to San Francisco, to that institute. That's the main reason.

Were there any added benefits in moving to San Francisco? Was there something that was missing from the labs in Japan?

Shinya Yamanaka: Because of my family, it's very difficult to completely move from Japan to San Francisco, so now I have two laboratories, one in Japan and one in San Francisco. The one in Japan, in Kyoto, is much, much bigger, so right now I can only stay in San Francisco a few days every month. I have to commute every month.

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