Welcome Dr. Koki Tohara: MCP’s Newest Faculty Member

We’re pleased to announce that Koki Tohara, PhD, will be joining us in 2027 as a tenure-track assistant professor, taking up residence on the first floor of Beckman. Dr. Tohara's arrival follows a rigorous search led by the MCP department, which brought five outstanding early-career investigators to campus for seminars and visits this year.

Dr. Tohara brings an exceptional background in cellular biophysics and sensory physiology. He earned his PhD at Rockefeller University, where he studied muscarinic receptor activation, and most recently completed his postdoctoral training at UCSF in David Julius's lab, investigating the molecular and neural basis of nociception in the gut.

Here at Beckman, Dr. Tohara's research program will build on that postdoctoral work, including efforts to decipher the non-vesicular release of acetylcholine from specialized intestinal epithelial cells. He also plans to establish a program to dissect the neural pathways underlying pelvic pain in female mouse models, an emerging area of study where his strong biophysical foundation will enable multiple experimental approaches.

We look forward to Dr. Tohara growing his research team here and to the new scientific energy he'll bring to our building. Please join us in giving him a warm welcome to Beckman.