Education:
MD, Nagoya University School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan

Research Area(s):
Human Immunology

Transplantation biology and experimental organ transplantation

We conduct experimental transplantation studies to solve problems associating with organ transplantation and to improve clinical transplant outcomes using various organ and cell transplantation models in rodents (e.g. rats, mice) and large animals (e.g. pigs).  Transplantation of liver, kidney, heart, and intestine grafts, as well as bone marrow transplantation are routinely conducted in experimental animals in our lab to investigate ischemia/reperfusion injury, alloimmune responses, tolerance induction, regeneration, and organ bioengineering in the setting of organ transplantation.  These in vivo studies in clinically relevant animal models provide significant data in understanding biology, mechanisms, and involved pathways in every aspect of organ transplantation.  In vivo models also are frequently used for preclinical evaluation of newly developed therapeutic strategies as a part of translational research.  Current ongoing projects include; 1) mechanisms of ischemia/reperfusion injury after transplantation, 2) cytoprotective function of heme oxygenase pathway and carbon monoxide, 3) donor hematopoietic cells and microchimerism after organ transplantation, 4) chronic allograft nephropathy (IF/TA), 5) pathogenesis and treatment of chronic rejection, 6) improvement of intestinal allograft survival based on chimerism, and 7) bioengineering of organ grafts using decellularized tissues.

Publications