معرفی
Dr Junichi Hachisuka is a Senior Lecturer in Neuroscience at the University of Glasgow's School of Psychology & Neuroscience. His research focuses on spinal cord circuits underlying pain and itch perception, with particular emphasis on neuronal signaling pathways and circuit mechanisms. He has contributed to understanding how somatostatin-expressing neurons modulate pain pathways and how spinal dynorphin neurons mediate opioid-induced itch. His work combines electrophysiological techniques, optogenetics, and ex vivo spinal cord models to study neuronal plasticity and circuit dynamics.
Key research areas include:
- Functional organization of spinoparabrachial pathways
- Neuromodulatory mechanisms in chronic itch
- Role of spinal interneurons in pain sensitization
- Development of in vivo/ex vivo spinal cord models
Current grants include investigations into lamina I projection neurons' roles in pain mechanisms (Medical Research Council, 2022–2024) and neurotropic virus functional biology (Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, 2023–2025).
Dr Hachisuka collaborates widely, including with teams at the University of Glasgow and international institutions. His lab's work bridges basic neuroscience with translational research in dermatological and chronic pain conditions.