Manae Makino (牧野真枝) is a Deaf Japanese user researcher and doctoral student at the University of Tokyo, where her dissertation examines what makes doctoral study accessible to Deaf people, and what stands in the way. Her earlier and ongoing applied work on accessible in-flight entertainment and disability-led "co-production" research has shaped how Japanese academia and the transportation industry think about designing with, not just for, disabled people.
Early Life
Makino is a native of Saitama Prefecture, Japan. She communicates fluently in Japanese Sign Language, her first language, as well as spoken and written Japanese, American Sign Language, English, and conversational International Sign[1][3].
Education
Makino studied at Ohlone College in Fremont, California, from 2012, earning a credential in Deaf education before graduating in 2015[1]. She subsequently returned to Japan and, since April 2023, has been a doctoral student in the Graduate School of Engineering at the University of Tokyo[1].
Career
After completing her studies in California, Makino spent a year as a teaching assistant at the Hawaii School for the Deaf and the Blind (2015-2016)[1][2]. She then returned to Japan, where she worked as a Japanese-English translator and as an instructor of American Sign Language and English[2]. Since February 2019, she has worked as a User Researcher at the Kumagai Laboratory, part of the University of Tokyo's Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology (RCAST), where she also serves as an active American Sign Language and International Sign interpreter[1][3].
Research
Makino's doctoral dissertation asks what makes the Deaf doctoral experience work, and what gets in the way, examining the structural and communication barriers that shape Deaf people's access to and progress through PhD study, with implications for how universities worldwide support Deaf scholars[6]. A related line of her research explores visual communication with Deaf children, looking at how gesture and visual signalling can build attention, set expectations, and foster connection in educational settings[6].
This approach grew out of her earlier and ongoing applied research at the Kumagai Laboratory, centered on accessibility for Deaf and hard-of-hearing air travelers, particularly the availability of subtitles in in-flight entertainment (IFE) systems. She has argued that the lack of Japanese-language subtitles in IFE is a common barrier for Deaf passengers, and that research incorporating the stakeholder perspective of Deaf travelers themselves had been lacking[3]. As part of this work, she developed an original comfort scale comparing the in-flight experience of hearing and Deaf or hard-of-hearing passengers[3], presented as "User-led Research on In-Flight Comfort for Deaf and Hard of Hearing" at TRANSED-DRT 2022[1]. She has continued to apply this "co-production" framework more broadly, co-authoring a practical guide to co-production research methods published in December 2025, and presenting "A Systematic Review of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Researchers" at the Deaf Academic Conference 2025[1] - work that feeds directly into her doctoral research on Deaf academics' path through higher education.
Advocacy and Recognition
Beyond her academic work, Makino is active in public Deaf advocacy and sign language education. Under the project name Sign with Joma on YouTube and TikTok, and Eyeth Signers on Instagram, she teaches Japanese Sign Language, American Sign Language, and International Sign, with closed captions available on her video content[4].
In August 2021, Makino received the 9th Marco Polo Medical Prize from the Japanese Society of Travel Medicine, awarded to outstanding young researchers, for her work on in-flight entertainment accessibility for Deaf and hard-of-hearing passengers[1][5]. In fiscal year 2020, her research received a grant from the ECOMO Foundation's programme for transportation barrier-free research and activities[1], and in May 2025 she was awarded a Google Gift East Asia Student Travel Grant by Google Asia Pacific[1].
Timeline
Moves to California
Enrolls at Ohlone College in Fremont, California, to pursue credentials in deaf education.
Graduates Ohlone College
Completes her deaf education credential, then joins the Hawaii School for the Deaf and the Blind as a teaching assistant.
Returns to Japan
Works as a Japanese-English translator and as an instructor of American Sign Language and English.
Joins Kumagai Laboratory
Begins work as a User Researcher at the University of Tokyo's Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology.
Marco Polo Medical Prize
Receives the 9th Marco Polo Medical Prize from the Japanese Society of Travel Medicine for her research on in-flight entertainment accessibility.
Begins doctoral studies
Enrolls in the Graduate School of Engineering at the University of Tokyo to research Deaf people's access to doctoral education.
Publishes and presents
Presents "A Systematic Review of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Researchers" at the Deaf Academic Conference 2025; receives a Google Gift East Asia Student Travel Grant; co-authors a practical guide to co-production research (December).
Videos
References
- "経歴・実績 MAKINO Manae", University of Tokyo User Researcher Project.
- "MAKINO Manae", University of Tokyo User Researcher Project.
- "未来を創る研究者たち: 牧野真枝", Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Tokyo.
- "Callie Frye Interviews Two Deaf Japanese Nationals", The Daily Moth, February 1, 2022.
- "マルコ・ポーロ医学賞", Japanese Society of Travel Medicine.
- "Meet Manae Makino, a Deaf PhD student from the University of Tokyo", Boston University Deaf Center.
