She is a fourth-year medical student who is involved in Zsófia Román's research project. She provides great help in preparing the meta-analysis, in which the researchers investigate the effect of hemoglobin A1c level on the onset and risk of pancreatic cancer. In May, Mizuki Hirukawa was named Project Student of the Month at the Center for Translational Medicine.
Mizuki Hirukawa has always been attracted to scientific work, and she has always wanted to be involved in research. Still, she wasn't confident enough to take on extra responsibilities alongside her studies. That changed last September when she started her TDK work at CTM. “After finishing my third year at medical school, I realized that it was time to challenge myself and stop just thinking about it. One of my friends introduced me to this department, and since I’ve always been interested in gastroenterology, I decided to join the Gastroenterology Group. Our project explores the relationship between HbA1c levels and the risk of pancreatic cancer.”
As a project student, Mizuki has several tasks. She screens articles to determine whether they meet their inclusion criteria, she extracts relevant data, and assesses the risk of bias in each study. She works closely with Zsófia Román, the Ph.D. student leading the project. They compare their assessments and decide whether to include or exclude studies. “We regularly meet via Zoom to compare our evaluations and ensure consistency. Her careful and precise work consistently inspires and motivates me. I feel truly lucky to be able to work with her.”
Balancing research with university studies is not easy, and when Mizuki joined CTM, she was not sure whether she could manage it alongside her medical studies. But then she realized that people are not really aware of their own capabilities until they put themselves to the challenge. “For me, being part of our project has shown that medicine goes far beyond textbooks, it’s a field that constantly evolves. This experience has deepened my interest and given me even more motivation to keep learning and growing as a future doctor.”
(Szabó Emese)