معرفی
Haruo Kasai, M.D., Ph.D., is a Principal Investigator and Project Professor at the International Research Center for Neurointelligence (IRCN), University of Tokyo, with a distinguished career spanning multiple institutions. His research focuses on dendritic spines as fundamental units of memory and cognition, utilizing two-photon microscopy to dissect their structural and functional dynamics.
Education:
- Graduated from University of Tokyo School of Medicine
- Humboldt Fellow at Max-Planck Institute, Germany
Key discoveries include:
- Demonstration of spine enlargement as the basis for long-term potentiation
- Elucidation of dopamine modulation of dendritic spines in learning
- Development of synaptic chemogenetics (SYNCit) for circuit manipulation
- Identification of mechanical synaptic transmission mechanisms
Recent publications highlight his lab's work on prefrontal cortex sleep regulation, mechanical spine actions, and intrinsic synaptic dynamics, with implications for mental disorders and AI development.
Scientific Recognition:
- Imperial Prize (2022)
- Japan Academy Prize (2022)
- Consistent F1000 Recommendations for key papers
Current work explores synaptic basis for mental disorders and neuroAI algorithms, supported by grants from AMED Brain/MIND 2. The lab actively recruits graduate students and postdocs, as evidenced by 2024 team expansions.
