Research Interests

Neurodegenerative diseases are defined as hereditary and sporadic conditions which are characterized by progressive nervous system dysfunction. Disruption of brain function induced by neurodegeneration have become major public health concerns. The work in our lab is focused on the understanding of the fundamental mechanism that underlie neurodegenerative disorders and developing therapeutic strategies for their treatment. Especially, we are interested in the relationship between brain dysfunction and systemic microenvironment such as blood and bone marrow, in Alzheimer's disease, Niemann-Pick type C disease and age-related neurodegeneration. To investigate this, we use in vitro and in vivo experimental models of neurodegeneration, as well as human samples, such as plasma, fibroblast and post-mortem brain tissue derived from patients, to unravel the pathogenesis of disease. We believe that elucidating the fundamental mechanisms of neurodegenration in experimental models will provide us with important clues for understanding the neurodegenerative process in neurodegenerative conditions and thus open new therapeutic avenues for disabling, currently incurable, neurological diseases.

Research Topics

  • Understanding of neural stem cell niche in neurodegenerative disease and developing neural stem cell activating factors for these diseases. The studies focus on establishing novel mechanism of stem cell regulation and developing new therapeutic and diagnostic strategies in neurodegenerative disease
  • Studying for novel pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disease by abnormal sphingolipid metabolism. The studies include molecular, biological, physiological and pathophysiological studies of sphingolipid metabolism in brain, blood, bone marrow and other organs
  • Developing of novel stem cell therapeutic strategy through regulation of bone marrow niche by neurotransmitter. The studies include understanding the bone marrow niche in normal and pathological condition. The studies focus on the establishment of original technology and development of stem cell therapeutics for neurodegenerative disease, osteoporosis, cancer, and other diseases.
  • Disease modeling and characterization of neurodegenerative disease using induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology. The studies include investigating disease development and models in vitro, as well as examining pathophysiology and testing therapeutic agents.