Ayu Fujii, Director and Chief Innovation Officer (CIO) of Morus, will speak at the second session of the online roundtable “If You Do Research, Consider a Venture Too” (「研究するなら、ベンチャーも。」), hosted by Leave a Nest Co., Ltd. on Wednesday, November 11, 2026.
The roundtable is designed for graduate students and postdoctoral researchers. Researchers working at research-driven startups to bring research and technology into society will share their graduate school research, their current R&D work, and how they apply their expertise. Please note that the session will be conducted in Japanese.
Ayu has brought research results to market as products in three distinct fields: pharmaceuticals, alternative protein, and silkworm-based nutrition. In this session, she will draw on her entire career, not only her work at Morus, to discuss:
・How she has turned research outcomes into products and businesses
・How R&D differs between large corporations and startups, and between pharmaceuticals and food
・How she has taken on the work “beyond research,” such as intellectual property, quality assurance, and regulatory affairs, as a researcher
・Event: “If You Do Research, Consider a Venture Too” (「研究するなら、ベンチャーも。」), an online roundtable for graduate students to meet R&D-driven startups
・Date & Time: Wednesday, November 11, 2026, 6:00 pm –7:00 pm (JST)
・Format: Online
・Language: Japanese
・Eligibility: Graduate students (Master’s and PhD), postdoctoral researchers, etc.
・Fee: Free
・Organizer: Leave a Nest Co., Ltd.
・Details: https://lne.st/2026/10/08/ventureseminar/
・Registration: https://id.lne.st/project/lvns_doctoral_roundtable/regist/basic_info/1
She graduated from California State University, Long Beach. At Otsuka Pharmaceutical, she worked on new drug development in the central nervous system and dermatology fields. She then returned to the United States and joined Beyond Meat as one of the core members before its IPO, covering product development, research and analysis, quality control, and patent filings. She joined Morus in 2023. She has overseen the full scope of R&D, including silkworm mass-cultivation, powderization research, product development, quality control, regulatory and export compliance, and IP strategy. She was appointed Director and CIO in June, 2026.
We hope this roundtable will help graduate students who wish to continue their research discover new possibilities and take their next step toward the careers ahead of them.
