معرفی
Dr. Kazuhide Shaun Okuda is a Senior Lecturer and Group Leader at the La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science, Department of Biochemistry and Chemistry at La Trobe University, Australia. He also holds honorary positions at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and the University of Melbourne. With extensive experience in zebrafish research and vascular biology, Dr. Okuda has established himself as an expert in lymphatic development, disease modeling, and drug discovery.
Dr. Okuda earned his PhD in Molecular Medicine from the University of Auckland, New Zealand (2010-2014), where he generated groundbreaking zebrafish transgenic lines for lymphatic vessel imaging. His subsequent postdoctoral work at Cancer Research Malaysia and the University of Queensland/Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre focused on anti-cancer therapeutics screening and dynamic signaling events during development and regeneration.
His research focuses on understanding lymphoedema mechanisms, identifying therapies that modulate vascular growth, and elucidating dynamic mechanisms of vascular development and disease progression. Dr. Okuda's work has significant potential impact in developing new treatments for lymphoedema and diseases with excessive vascular growth such as cancer and lymphatic malformations.
Analysis of Dr. Okuda's publication record shows a consistent focus on vascular and lymphatic development using zebrafish models. His most recent work (2023-2025) demonstrates an expansion into drug delivery systems, advanced imaging techniques, and single-cell analysis approaches while maintaining his core interest in lymphangiogenesis mechanisms and therapeutic interventions.
Dr. Okuda has received significant research funding, including a National Health and Medical Research Council Ideas Grant (2024-2027) for his project on 'Cellular signalling and growth control in vascular development and lymphatic malformations.'
- Primary supervisor of PhD students (X4), La Trobe University (2023-present)
- Co-supervisor of PhD students (X3), University of Melbourne (2020-present)
- Co-supervisor of a PhD student, La Trobe University (2023-present)
- Senior Lecturer and Group Leader, La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science (2023-present)
- Honorary Scientist, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre (2023-present)
- Honorary Fellow, University of Melbourne (2020-present)
Dr. Okuda leads a research group at the La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science focused on identifying therapeutic leads/targets that modulate the vasculature and studying dynamic signaling mechanisms in endothelial cells using zebrafish models. His team has made significant contributions to understanding lymphatic development, including the identification of Ddx21 and ribosome biogenesis as novel regulators of embryonic lymphangiogenesis.
