FACULTY
- Department
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences
- Laboratory
- Pharmacology and Neurobiology Laboratory
- Field of Study
- Biological Systems
- Degree
- Doctor of Pharmaceutical Sciences
History
Graduate School/University, etc.
1983 Graduated from Department of General Pharmacology, Hiroshima University School of Medicine 1985 Completed First Term Doctoral Course, Biopharmacy Major, Hiroshima University School of Medicine 1987 Withdrew from Second Term Doctoral Course in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Why I Became a Researcher
What are you thinking right now? You’re probably looking at text with your eyes, you’re working your “brain,” you’re reading sentences, you’re analyzing and interpreting information about the person who wrote those sentences in a way that’s particular to you, and you might have thoughts going through your head to determine just how much of a “strange person” the writer is. When I was in elementary school, my dream was to go to the “outer reaches of space.” However, after becoming a junior high school student, I learned that I could ride a rocket for my whole life and never get there, which was shocking to me. In my elementary school science textbook, I learned about the existence of creatures that could regenerate themselves called “planaria.” After becoming a junior high school student, I went all through the fields and hills searching for planaria. I experimented with them multiple times, cutting them to see if they would regenerate, but the experiments did not go very well using tools from my home. Also, I enjoyed reading Osamu Tezuka’s “Phoenix” and “Black Jack,” and I often thought about “life.” And I remember moving into pharmaceutical science after dreaming of medical treatment from one to many instead of medical treatment from one to one. After that, I struggled with choosing the heart or the brain as a research theme, but I found myself enchanted by the brain, which was like a “mysterious microcosm” inside my head. And I came across many things that made me think “why is that?” And while desperately struggling and experiencing many twists and turns, I strayed onto this path.
Research Information
Research Area and Theme
Neuropharmacology
1: Alzheimer’s disease and microglia 2: Parkinson’s disease and the DJ-1 protein 3: Nerve network regeneration in the brains of planaria I am conducting constant research to clarify the mechanisms that cause neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease, which occur easily in the elderly, with the aim of developing fundamental therapeutic strategies and beyond that, new therapeutic agents.
Thoughts on Research Theme
Currently, the average lifespan in Japan remains at the world’s top level. On the other hand, a serious decline in the population is beginning. As a result, labor shortages, increasing medical expenses, and patient care are becoming serious issues for our society. As diseases that have an extremely high risk of occurring due to aging, there are diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, which causes motor impairment, and Alzheimer’s disease, which is one form of dementia. The brain’s nerve cells don’t really regenerate, and it is well known that once we become adults, our nerve cells gradually die off as we age. Furthermore, aging also results in the occurrence of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, which cause injury and impairment to specific regions of the brain. To confront these diseases: 1. We will extend “healthy lifespans” without having to rely on care from a doctor, 2. We will develop preventative therapies and drugs that prevent or delay the onset of disease, 3. We will develop therapeutic methods and drugs that slow down the progress of symptoms even if disease has occurred, 4. We will develop therapeutic methods and drugs that mitigate symptoms even if it is impossible to cure a disease, and 5. We expect to develop the fundamental therapeutic methods and drugs of our dreams. Lately, I’ve also been stumbling when I walking and I have become more forgetful. Before I go for wool and come back shorn, I hope that I can contribute to the above medical strategies, even if it’s a little.
Message to Students
Let's TRY!
Pharmacists need to have close communication with medical teams and pharmacy members. Also, even in drug discovery research, close coordination with project members is required. As a result, pharmaceutical science students and those who have been admitted to the College of Pharmaceutical Sciences should acquire “the ability to listen and understand people,” and “the ability to communicate your ideas to third parties.” Also, refreshing “greetings” are essential. It would be fine if you were able to have photographic memory of everything you’ve seen, but that hardly ever happens. A brain that remembers things has 5 senses. In other words, sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste. If you write text by hand in a notebook while drinking tea or coffee, and read aloud, it will be possible for you to create many associations for many things and remember them. Instead of thinking “I just need to enjoy today,” please imagine what activities you will be doing at xxx (your profession) in yyy (a place) on earth 20 years later. If you do that, you’ll then think about what you should be doing now, and then you’ll be able execute and take action on whatever that is. Let's TRY! Don’t rush. Let’s take one step at a time to climb the stairs to success. Cutting edge foresight will evolve into revolution. Confusion will be my epitaph!