Dr. Ryoji Amamoto hated science in high school. 

And who could blame him? He didn’t learn to speak English until he was in the third grade when his family immigrated from Japan to Chicago. He overcame the language barrier by relying on his competitive nature and athleticism to connect with his peers. In between volleyball and basketball, he learned the classic guitar and fed his curiosity by exploring philosophical questions on his own time. He was a born-adventurer — drawn to novelty and discovery — so when his science classes pushed for dull memorization of facts and figures, he didn’t take to it.

As soon as he could, he began to hike, backpack, and wander his way around the world. He was looking for a career path that would somehow satiate his ambition, feed his mind, and meet his love of a good challenge, all without getting in the way of his wanderlust. Driven by his fascination with people, he enrolled in psychology classes and finally got a taste of what it was like not to learn science, but to do it. That led to a neuroscience class, which led to a genetics class, which led to working in a research lab for the first time.

As it turned out, he was made for this. Science in the real world is more about curiosity than memorization, more about discovery than facts, and more about drive than so-called “smarts”. Despite the public conception of scientists as “lone genius” types, he realized that research is more about practice, overcoming challenges, and adaptability — it was the one team sport, the one adrenaline rush, that he’d been missing.

Today, Dr. Amamoto sees science as one of the greatest adventures of his life, and like everything else that he does, he’s made it his own. He studies organisms that are able to regenerate their brains in hopes of learning how to treat neurological diseases, like Parkinson’s. He works to improve inequities in science and bridge gaps between the lab and the kids out there who — like him — may not know what science is really about. He’s traveled for training, conferences, and fellowships, fitting in scuba diving or a pick-up game in between the data. The lab has become his dream playground, an opportunity to ask new questions and push boundaries for a living, all while not having to memorize a thing.