Key Documents
Hirokazu Fukui
Academic Appointments
- Postdoctoral Research fellow, Genetics
Contact Information
- Academic
Offices
Personal Information Email Tel (650) 736-7186
Professional Snapshot
Honors and Awards
- Postdoctoral Fellowship for Research Abroad, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (2009-)
- Outstanding oral presentation award, Eastern Atlantic Student Research Forum (2007)
- Lois Pope LIFE Fellowship, University of Miami (2003-2008)
- Elizabeth Wallace Rawlins Scholarship, Georgia College & State University (2002-2003)
- Enami Award (B.S. summa cum laude), Kobe Pharmaceutical University (2001)
Professional Education
| Doctor of Philosophy: | University of Miami, (2008) |
| Master of Science: | Georgia College&State University, Biological Sciences (2003) |
| Bachelor of Science: | Kobe Pharmaceutical University, Pharmacy/ Pharmaceutical Sciences (2001) |
Faculty Advisor
Web Site Links
Scientific Focus
Research Interests
My overarching goal is to identify molecular mechanisms by which age-associated diseases arise to develop pharmacological or stem cell-based interventions that prevent or cure those diseases. My particular emphasis is on mammalian brain aging and neurodegenerative diseases.
My current research focuses on the molecular and cellular mechanisms that govern the age-associated functional decline of adult neural stem cells. In the nervous system, the number and function of adult neural stem cells decline with age, which may contribute to age-associated cognitive deficits. Supporting this hypothesis, recent studies have revealed a strong correlation between cognitive function and the generation of new cells in the brains of aged mice. My long-term goal is to characterize the molecular networks that regulate the self-renewal of adult neural stem cells and to employ their potentials to promote the maintenance of adult neural stem cells during aging.
Publications
- Mechanisms of formation and accumulation of mitochondrial DNA deletions in aging neurons. Hum Mol Genet. 2009; (6): 1028-36
- The mitochondrial impairment, oxidative stress and neurodegeneration connection: reality or just an attractive hypothesis? Trends Neurosci. 2008; (5): 251-6
- Extended polyglutamine repeats trigger a feedback loop involving the mitochondrial complex III, the proteasome and huntingtin aggregates. Hum Mol Genet. 2007; (7): 783-97
- Cytochrome c oxidase deficiency in neurons decreases both oxidative stress and amyloid formation in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2007; (35): 14163-8
- Cytochrome c oxidase is required for the assembly/stability of respiratory complex I in mouse fibroblasts. Mol Cell Biol. 2006; (13): 4872-81
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