Welcome to our summer research assistant, Tsukasa Iinishi

Meros is excited to welcome our new summer research assistant, Tsukasa Iinishi!

Tsukasa has just finished his third year at Northeastern University’s D’Amore-McKim School of Business in Boston, with a focus on corporate innovation and economics. He has also been working at the Antimicrobial Discovery Center at Northeastern as a research assistant to support experiments, particularly related to DNA technologies and antibiotic testing.

“I was interested in working at Meros because of the unique environment where everyone in the company is bilingual and values Japanese and English,” he says. “As a Japan-based company, Meros works with both Japanese and international governments and private companies. I want to be involved in as many projects as possible to get exposed to diverse projects and clients and learn new things.”

At Meros, Tsukasa is eager to develop a wide range of professional skills during his time with the team. “I hope to learn and improve my desktop research skills, interview skills, data analysis skills, and other skills that are necessary to become an effective consultant.”

This summer, Tsukasa will also be working on an independent research project related to the Japan market for blue carbon credits – carbon stored in coastal and marine ecosystems, like mangroves, seagrasses, and salt marshes. The project will allow him to explore the intersection of environmental sustainability and business, and to contribute to Meros’ broader work in climate and ocean-related topics.

Tsukasa brings a mindset of curiosity to our team. “Any topic is interesting to me,” he says. “From small conversations that happen throughout the day, to my personal project, as well as real projects that we are working in the company, every conversation and work that I do is an opportunity to learn new things and that drives my curiosity.”

Outside of work, Tsukasa enjoys exploring new foods and places. “I love almost all cuisines,” he says. “I obviously like Japanese cuisine, as well as Korean and Chinese, especially Sichuan. I also really enjoy Vietnamese food such as pho and other Southeast Asian food.” He’s also a coffee enthusiast and travel lover: “I love to go sightseeing in nature as well as historic buildings and sites. I also enjoy drinking coffee, so I am always interested in going to cafes and trying coffee from all over the world.”

He will have a chance to try cafes around the world after he completes his summer work with Meros – he will be joining the Japan-based international organization Peace Boat as an on-board interpreter, for the ship’s upcoming 121st Global Voyage around the world, as it promotes world peace and human rights during its four-month journey.

Welcome Mako Irisumi, our summer research assistant!

Meros is geared up and ready for our new summer research assistant Mako Irisumi. Welcome!

Mako is an undergraduate student at Wellesley College in the US, with a major in Computer Science and also a student researcher this past year at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) D-Lab. She previously interned with the Japanese development consulting company Padeco on an infrastructure project in Romania. Mako is a Tokyo native but has been studying in the US since high school.

Meros is extremely busy right now and Mako has been able to jump right into projects and support our current work. She has been researching the sustainability goals of global start-ups related to regenerative agriculture and as well as supporting the kick-off of a new project with Hokkaido University and the Japan International Cooperation Agency that will focus on cassava and carbon markets in Vietnam.

Mako was an obvious fit for Meros. “I am strongly inspired by Meros’s global contributions to the food and agriculture sector, especially in agri-tech, and its diverse team. As a student researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) D-Lab, I conducted research on passive solar desalination to address water sanitation challenges in Madagascar last year. Our fieldwork in Madagascar for three weeks in January allowed me to witness firsthand realities of global poverty, especially food insecurity issues, fueling my desire to solve food insecurity worldwide. I also enjoyed collaborating with diverse teammates and engaging in global collaboration. Additionally, as a computer science major, I was very curious about how to solve this food insecurity issue from an agri-tech perspective. Therefore, Meros’s international impact in the agri-tech sector and its diverse team and clients align perfectly with my passion.”

Mako will be working on an independent research project that combines her interest in technology and economic development, by looking at Japan’s Rural 5G initiative that is exploring ways to bring 5G telecommunications to rural and agricultural communities in Japan. This will allow her dig into the various financing models for rural infrastructure, the benefits 5G can bring to farmers, the level of demand among farmers and the potential technologies that it may allow.

“This fall, I hope to improve my research skills. In addition to desktop research, I am excited to develop my abilities in conducting interviews and field research. Learning from experienced team members at Meros will be an invaluable opportunity for my professional growth.”

Like the rest of the Meros team Mako loves discovering new foods. “I love exploring new restaurants and have around 20 saved on my Google Maps just in the Meros neighborhood alone. I particularly love fish, especially mackerel (saba), as it is delicious whether grilled, stewed, or served as sushi.”

Meros is growing! Welcome Sachika Onaka Adcock as a full-time research analyst!

Meros is thrilled to welcome Sachika Onaka Adcock as a full-time research analyst! 

Sachika originally joined our team as a full-time intern in fall of 2023. Her background and interest in global markets and food systems and environmental science were the perfect mix for success at Meros.

Our team has been extremely impressed with her work so far exploring food loss in the apple value chain in Japan, investigating global schemes for protecting plant breeder rights and successfully supporting a Japanese company register for organic OMRI labeling in the US. She is now just back from a whirlwind field research trip in Southeast Asia with lots of stories to share. Her unwavering enthusiasm and curiosity is infectious and we are so pleased to have her on our team.

As she told us last fall, she was initially attracted to Meros because of the diversity of issues we tackle and its link to her core interests of both science and international affairs.

“Because I majored in physiology at university and took a minor in Earth Science, I had studied issues involved peripherally with food and agriculture. Specifically, I looked at food and nutrition in relation to human health along with soil science and challenges facing the agricultural sector due to climate change.”

“Within the very first week at Meros I realized just how much change and innovation is occurring within the food and agriculture sector. I am excited to continue to learn more about such diverse and various topics, including regulations and policies of different governments surrounding the food and agriculture especially as it relates to new and emerging agrifood technologies.”

Sachika is a graduate of Monash University in Melbourne, Australia where she studied Physiology and Earth Sciences. Sachika spent her childhood between Australia and Himeji, in the western area of Japan.