Mobile DNA: Finding Treasure in Junk

22. Hiroki’s big surprises

In 2003, Hiroki Kano from Osaka University approached me at a meeting in Japan with a desire to join the lab as a postdoc. He was just finishing his Ph.D. degree with Toda in Medical Genetics. I learned later after Hiroki joined the lab in early 2005 that Kano had an M.D. degree and was a trained orthopedic surgeon who had carried out his Ph.D. lab research in the evenings and weekends. He brought with him to the U.S. his wife and two early school-age children.

Kano’s English was serviceable. He understood the language reasonably well and spoke haltingly. However, he read and wrote the language very well. Hiroki was soft-spoken but knew his own mind and his opinions were always very much respected. His work was impeccable, ...