Professor
Yasushi Okamura
-
History
- 1989 Completed doctoral course at the University of Tokyo Graduate School of Medicine
- Assistant, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo
- State University of New York at Stony Brook (Department of Neurobiology & Behavior) Postdoc
- Agency of Industrial Science and Technology, Institute of Biotechnology and Industrial Technology, Chief Researcher
- Professor, Okazaki Integrative Bioscience Center, National Institutes of Natural Sciences
- After that, I assumed my current position in April 2008.
-
Previous
Research TitleStructure and function of voltage-gated ion channels, control of ion channel expression during the neural differentiation process, developmental mechanisms of the ascidian larval nervous system, etc.
Up until now, I have been studying electrical phenomena in cells and the functions of membrane proteins as their molecular entities. The wonder of how immature cells emit action potentials when they differentiate, and seeing the world of cells magnified with an electron microscope were my original experiences as a researcher. Having studied marine animals as a starting point during graduate school, I am also interested in the diversity and evolution of biological functions. We are trying to discover a new physiological role for cell membrane potential by discovering molecules that convert electrical signals into chemical signals from the genome of the sea squirt. For a long time, we have focused on proteins that play a role in proton transport during phagocytosis by macrophages and neutrophils, and are investigating the role of electrical signals in immune function and their relationship to pathological conditions. -
HobbiesTraveling (recently I only go for work)
-
Motto
Although it's not a motto, I like the words of Professor Hayao Kawai: ``To live uniquely means not to be reduced to a number, to bet on things that are not certain.'' Rather than making decisions based solely on profit and loss or logic, I would like to value what comes from within my body.
-
Student Life
I was in the rowing club at the University of Tokyo School of Medicine. For a third of the year, I lived in a training camp along the Arakawa River and attended university. Living together, eating from the same pot and going to bed and waking up together, sometimes brought me into conflict with my friends, but now that I think about it, it was extremely valuable. At the training camp, time passed at a leisurely pace, and I was able to read many books unrelated to medicine, such as novels. When I entered university, I thought I would go into psychiatry, but as I was learning electron microscopy and experiencing the patch clamp technique with my classmates, I suddenly entered the world of basic research.
-
Recommend
While they are young, I want them to expand their world without getting caught up in immediate profits, without being too stubborn, and without being afraid of clashing with others. In terms of books, I recommend the science fiction and science essays by Isaac Asimov, who was a biochemist and author.
