As one of 25 scientists selected for the prestigious appointment in 2023, Kitaoka will receive funding that supports her postdoctoral research in the lab of Whitehead Institute Member Yukiko Yamashita and that may continue into her early career as independent faculty. Kitaoka studies how sperm genomes are safeguarded and filtered to ensure sperm quality and fertility; in that work, she explores intersections between DNA damage responses, genome architecture, and sperm developmental dynamics.