Members

Nikolai Iakushev, Staff Scientist
nikolay.yakushev@oist.jp

My research interest is the study and protection of migratory bird species including the study of genomic patterns of rare and endangered species. I have also been the field team leader for the conservation of the Spoon-billed Sandpiper in Chukotka for 10 years. My role is to organize and develop field research of rare and endangered bird species. In my spare time I enjoy reading, hiking, and traveling.

Saori Chappell, Research Unit Administrator
saori.chappell@oist.jp

My role is to support the unit members to achieve their objectives from the administrative side and to ensure smooth running of the unit. I enjoy getting to know everyone's projects and the opportunity to meet people from all over the world. Originally from Okinawa, I spent 10 years living in London, UK. With a background in post-production, I have a wide-ranging administrative experience as subtitle coordinator. Outside of work, I enjoy art, travel and spending time with my family and friends.

Arina Mazurova, Research Unit Technician
arina.mazurova@oist.jp

MSc. & BSc. in Biology, biochemistry at Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia

My MSc thesis was dedicated to small RNAs in mycobacteria, right now I am using bacteria as a model to study the evolutionary landscapes of different things. In my spare time, I like reading books, studying world history, and walking around in virtual Polish swamps

Aygul Minnegalieva, Research Unit Technician
aygul.minnegalieva@oist.jp

My research interests include the combination of immunology, evolutionary and synthetic biology. Specifically, my current project in the lab involves the comparative study of protein-protein interactions between coronaviruses and humans. As part of my responsibilities in the lab, I conduct cell culture work. Additionally, I am interested in application of machine and deep learning models to biological questions.

Lada Isakova, Research Unit Technician
l.isakova@oist.jp

I'm interested in evolutionary biology, in particular, molecular and genome evolution. In the lab, I focus on studying fitness landscapes using available genetic data. My project involves characterizing protein sequence spaces of large numbers of homologous proteins from a mathematical point of view to study their evolution. Currently, I'm working as a bioinformatician, but in the past, I was involved in both experimental and dry-lab projects. I like weird sea creatures and traveling.

Fedor Gagarin, Research Unit Technician
fedor.gagarin@oist.jp

Before joining OIST I was a software architect in a banking sector. In the unit I apply my experience to help colleagues to improve their high computational models, write software to automate experiments and share my knowledge of good practices in the software developing area that will help them in their research. During my free time I raise a daughter, make a lot of photos and study new software development technologies to improve my skills.