上智大学 SDGs&サステナビリティ

Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies, Master's (Doctoral) Program in Global Environmental Studies　Professor

Faculty of Liberal Arts, Department of Liberal Arts　Professor

Research Interests: My work is informed by broad interests in agrarian and environmental change. I explore these themes through a multi-disciplinary perspective that enables me to understand the complexity and diversity of social-ecological interactions that shape human wellbeing and environmental integrity. I have conducted fieldwork in Southeast Asia and Japan. I have a background in politics, political economy, political ecology, agrarian studies, development studies, and global studies. I draw mostly on qualitative methods and relational analysis of society and environment. Since 2012, I have been on the faculty in the Faculty of Liberal Arts and the Graduate School of Global Studies at Sophia University.
I am currently engaged in three research projects that seek to advance theoretical and empirical understanding of the mutual constitution between society and ecology.

Faculty of Science and Technology, Department of Materials and Life Sciences　Professor

Research Interests: Natural products are the major source of therapeutic small molecules; not just for anti-bacterials and anti-fungals but also for anti-cancers where around half of existing drugs have this origin. Dictyostelium is a social amoebae living in a soil, where is known as a battle field of chemical warfare. Dicty genome analysis revealed its massive potential of the production of small molecules, secondary metabolites.
My research question is “What do these chemical compounds do in the soil?” I’m interested in the chemical communication between Dicty and its environment. Understanding the eco-chemical interactions in the soil is important not only for understanding the survival strategy of microbes but also for maintaining the health of soil environment.

Faculty of Science and Technology, Department of Materials and Life Sciences　Professor

Research Interests: Specializing in polymer chemistry and material chemistry, we are conducting research about organic-inorganic hybrid materials and functional polymers such as conducting polymers and biocompatible polymers for various applications.
In particular, we aim to apply them to the fields of light, energy, biotechnology, and the environment. Our motto is to design, synthesize, evaluate the resulting compounds, and conduct research with a firm image of the process to be applied.

Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies, Master's (Doctoral) Program in Global Environmental Studies　Professor

Research Interests: My research field is environmental economics which employs economics analysis techniques to consider the causes of environmental problems and to explore effective countermeasures.
Especially, I have been working on the economic valuation of the environment. Economic valuation of the environment enables the estimation of the benefits of environmental protection and the costs of environmental destruction, therefore economic analysis such as cost-benefit analysis of environmental policies becomes possible.
Since solving environmental problems requires knowledge in various fields, I participate in interdisciplinary research projects composed of researchers from various fields and conduct joint research.

Center for Global Education and Discovery/ International Cooperation Studies (Graduate School of Global Studies)　Professor

Research Interests: Mikiko Sugiura is a professor at the Center for Global Education and Discovery, and the Graduate School of Global Studies (International Cooperation).
Her research interests include institutional frameworks for sustainable water resources management, emphasizing river water use and social distribution systems. In particular, considering the changing environmental views and relation with nature, she focuses on identifying representative socio-ecological systems of water resources development and management, adapting to diverse physical (e.g., climate) and non-physical (e.g., culture) conditions in hot and humid Asian monsoon regions.
Within the overall framework of her research, "water rights systems" are one of the main themes. She is also passionate about related issues such as drought management, environmental water rights, and biodiversity conservation.