Research focus
Genomics and Cancer Biology
1. Identification of genes responsible for intractable diseases including cancer and genomic disorders through integrative genomics and epigenomics.
2. Discovery of the molecular mechanisms behind cancer-related genes, including microRNAs (miRs), involved in the multistep processes of carcinogenesis and cancer progression, such as cancer stem cells, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), invasion and metastasis using systems biology.
３．Development of miRNA-based therapies by replacing tumor-suppressor miRNAs (TS-miRs) using synthetic double strand miRNA mimics. Our TS-miR-based cancer therapy can bring an exciting new facet to personalized medicine in the treatment of intractable cancers.
4. Establishment of an autophagy-based diagnosis and therapy in human cancers by understanding the cellular context-dependent roles of autophagy.
5. Multiple genomic analyses of undiagnosed genetic disorders, e.g. multiple congenital anomalies and/or intellectual disabilities (MCA/ID), and epilepsy, to identify causative genes and unravel the etiology. Furthermore, a microarray-based technology for the diagnostics of congenital disorders, ‘Genome Disorder Array’, was developed and implemented in the clinical setting in 2009 under a Government-Industry-Academia collaboration.
1. Identification of genes responsible for intractable diseases including cancer and genomic disorders through integrative genomics and epigenomics.
2. Discovery of the molecular mechanisms behind cancer-related genes, including microRNAs (miRs), involved in the multistep processes of carcinogenesis and cancer progression, such as cancer stem cells, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), invasion and metastasis using systems biology.
３．Development of miRNA-based therapies by replacing tumor-suppressor miRNAs (TS-miRs) using synthetic double strand miRNA mimics. Our TS-miR-based cancer therapy can bring an exciting new facet to personalized medicine in the treatment of intractable cancers.
4. Establishment of an autophagy-based diagnosis and therapy in human cancers by understanding the cellular context-dependent roles of autophagy.
5. Multiple genomic analyses of undiagnosed genetic disorders, e.g. multiple congenital anomalies and/or intellectual disabilities (MCA/ID), and epilepsy, to identify causative genes and unravel the etiology. Furthermore, a microarray-based technology for the diagnostics of congenital disorders, ‘Genome Disorder Array’, was developed and implemented in the clinical setting in 2009 under a Government-Industry-Academia collaboration.