Professor, Department of Biomolecular Sciences, Tohoku University Graduate School of Life Sciences
Education and Career
Research Associate, Miyazaki Medical College, 1979
Ph.D., Faculty of Science, Osaka University, 1983
Research Fellow, University of California, San Diego, 1989
Associate Professor, Faculty of Science, Kyushu University, 1990
Professor, Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University, 1999
Professor, Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University, 2001
Research Project
In response to intracellular and extracellular stimuli, cells change their morphology and motility. Actin cytoskeletal reorganization plays a central role in cell shape change and movement. We previously showed that the LIM-kinase-cofilin pathway plays a role in actin filament dynamics and actin cytoskeletal reorganization. The purpose of our laboratory is to elucidate the signaling pathways that transduce extracellular stimuli to the machinery controlling actin filaments and to better understand the mechanisms by which cells spatiotemporally and coordinately regulate the actin cytoskeletal remodeling. Our study also aims to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying cytokinesis, cell cycle regulation, chemotactic response of leukocytes, invasion and metastasis of cancer cells, and neuronal growth cone guidance.
