Board members & Advisors
Hirokazu Toju, Ph.D.
Founder and Chief Scientific Officer (CSO)
Professor, Graduate School of Life Sciences, Kyoto University. Graduated from Kyoto University's Faculty of Science; completed Master's program at Kyoto University's Graduate School of Science; earned Ph.D. (Science) at Kyushu University Graduate School. After serving as a Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Research Fellow (SPD; National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology), held positions including Project Assistant Professor at Kyoto University's Hakubi Center, Visiting Scholar at Stanford University's Department of Biology, Sakigake Researcher (concurrently) at the Japan Science and Technology Agency, and Associate Professor at Kyoto University's Center for Ecological Research, before assuming the current position. Research spans ecology, evolutionary biology, entomology, and microbiology, extending to molecular biology and network science. Served as Director of the Ecological Society of Japan, among other positions. Awards and honors include the Miyaji Prize from the Ecological Society of Japan, the Young Scientist Award from the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Kyoto University Hakubi Researcher, and the HFSP (Human Frontier Science Program) Awards 2019.
Sota Ishikawa, Ph.D.
CEO
My research activities are primarily focused on overcoming the methodological and computational limitations of large-scale data analysis in the coming era of big "omics" data. My current mission as CEO of Sunlit Seedings ltd. is to boost the application of biotechnology and bioinformatics knowledge towards the establishment of a sustainable global ecosystem.
2015 University of Tsukuba, PhD in Evolutionary Biology
~2016 Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Tsukuba
~2019 JSPS Research Fellow(PD), the University of Tokyo
~2020 Postdoctoral Researcher, Institut Pasteur
~2022 R&D Manager, Sunlit Seedings ltd.
Yukiko Kaimori
CFO
Yukiko Kaimori founded Sunlit Seedlings with Toju Hirokazu, Sota Ishikawa, and others in 2020. Before that, she worked as the general manager in the real estate investment division of General Electric Company (GE REAL ESTATE), where she managed the assets of $3.8 billion. She engaged in organizational management, market and financial analysis, and strategic planning. As an ombudsperson, she contributed to the company’s compliance and integrity.
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Masahiro Shinohara
Outside Director
Masahiro Shinohara joined KYOTO-iCAP in April 2021. He has various experiences in creating new businesses based on new technologies. Prior to joining KYOTO-iCAP, he engaged in providing consulting services such as business strategy, new business development, business due diligence, with his customers in chemical and healthcare industries at Arthur D. Little Japan. Before Arthur D. Little, he worked for Teijin Limited at chemical product business development, where he was responsible for acquiring new customers in Japan, and overseas and accelerating investment in new production lines. He holds a master degree from the Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University.
Adviser
Takeshi Osawa, Ph.D.Associate Professor, Tokyo Metropolitan University
Completed the Doctoral Program at the Graduate School of Human Development and Environment, Kobe University. Doctor of Science. After serving as a Senior Researcher at the National Institute for Agricultural Sciences, among other positions, assumed current role in 2018. Specializes in biodiversity informatics, ecosystem management science, conservation science, and applied ecology.
Takashi Shirouzu Ph.D.Associate Professor, Mie University
Graduate School of Biological Resources Science
Born in Wakayama Prefecture in 1981. Ph.D. (Science)
Researches fungal diversity and ecology.
Author of Strange Fungi: Survival Strategies in the Micro World (NHK Publishing New Books)
Co-author of Mushrooms of Japan (Yama-kei Publishers) and Ecology of Microorganisms (both published by i-Chitatsu Publishing).
Kengo Fuse
Researcher
Director, Kyushu Open University General Incorporated Association
After serving at the Kyushu University Asia Conservation Ecology Research Center and the Kyushu University Center for Decision Science, assumed current position in April 2020. The primary survey fields include Southeast Asian tropical forests and evergreen broadleaf forests. Currently, while engaged in research and surveys concerning the taxonomic reexamination of Japanese vascular plants, I also conduct surveys of fish, insects, mammals, and other organisms. Not only conducting wildlife surveys, but also visiting production sites across various fields such as clothing, food, and housing, spending the majority of the year in the field.
Takaaki Nishida, Ph.D.
Professor, Kyoto Sangyo University
Environmental policy and planning
Department of Industrial Life Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences
Graduated from the Faculty of Agriculture, Kyoto Prefectural University. Completed the Doctor of Science program at the Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University in March 2009. From April 2009, served as a researcher at a private think tank, engaged in research and surveys on environmental policies for government agencies and consulting on environmental management. Assumed current position in April 2019. Broadly participates in research and activities on policies and projects aiming to balance environmental conservation and economic development.
Masaharu Sawada
Representative, IE Labo
Fukugin Lease Co., Ltd. Representative Director; Former Director of foreign-affiliated companies; Former Chairman of an independent administrative agency; Former Director of domestic listed companies. Currently active as a management consultant with a proven track record in providing in-depth business support based on experience and results, formulating management and financial strategies, and developing and mentoring leadership talent.
