Dr. Maho Yokoyama is a researcher and science writer. She was awarded her Ph.D. from the University of Bath, UK, following a thesis in the field of Microbiology, where she applied functional genomics to Staphylococcus aureus. The aim of her doctorate was to identify novel loci which affect the virulence of S. aureus by Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS).
She began her studies at Swansea University, UK, with a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Biochemistry. It was here that Maho realized that biological research was something she really enjoyed.
She fondly remembers a second-year module on medical microbiology that piqued her interest. This was followed by her final year project, where she got to experience microbiological research in the laboratory for the first time, and really delve into the theory behind the techniques she was using.
Knowing that she was interested in infectious diseases and that immunology plays a huge role in this, Maho decided to do a master’s degree in Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Nottingham, UK. The project taught Dr. Yokoyama how to plan experiments and organize results, and that science experiments do not always go to plan!
The logical next step for Dr. Yokoyama was a Ph.D. with a focus on medical microbiology. Here, she had the opportunity not only to improve the knowledge and techniques she had learned in previous projects but also learn new techniques and theories. This included a small amount of computer coding, which she found challenging but interesting.
During her Ph.D., Maho collaborated with other academics on several papers and even published some of her own work in peer-reviewed scientific journals. She has also presented her work at academic conferences around the world.
She began writing when she created a blog and has since expanded her writing to include articles for News-Medical. She enjoys writing and sharing her knowledge of science with readers, and having a reason to research topics outside of her current field.