Integrative Anthropology
Nobuyuki KUTSUKAKEProfessor
Animal behaviour, Behavioral ecology, Primatology
My researches aim to understand (1) social behaviour and cognition in group-living mammals and other vertebrates (birds and fish), (2) evolutionary forces shaping biological diversity. My mission is to prepare an environment in which young students and researchers can devote their time/energy to study their favorite animals.
Hitomi HONGOAssociate Professor
Environmental Archaeology (Zooarchaeology), Palaeoanthropology
My main research focus on the process of animal exploitation patterns in prehistory and the process of domestication in Southwest Asia as well as in East Asia. I analyze animal bone remains from archaeological sites to investigate man-animal relationships and impact of human activities on prehistoric environment.
Takumi TSUTAYAAssistant Professor
Biological anthropology, Primatology, Bioarchaeology
I study various lived experiences of ancient/modern humans and non-human primates, such as Jomon hunter-gatherers and wild orangutans. How they were born, grew, reproduced, and died? How did it lead to biological evolution and adaptation? I use mass spectrometry, such as stable isotope and proteomic analyses, as my main methods.
Behavioral Biology
Michiyo KINOSHITAAssociate Professor
Behavioral neuroscience (Neuroethology)
I am interested in how animals perceive the world and how the world is represented in their brains. To answer these questions, we study perceptional world of foraging swallowtail butterflies and neuronal mechanism underlying the behavior. These studies will help to understand co-evolution of butterfly visual world and various traits of flowers.
Takayuki WATANABEAssistant Professor
Evolutionary developmental neurobiology
The brain of insects undergoes morphological changes during postembryonic development to acquire neural circuits for adult-specific behaviors. Takayuki Watanabe focuses on the sexually dimorphic circuits regulating adult-specific behaviors and is investigating the evolution of the neural sex-determination system in basal insects. Besides, he is establishing “Neurogenetics” in basal insects.
Evolutionary Biology
Yoko SATTAProfessor
Evolutionary Physiology, Genome Genetics
Evolution of genes responsible for physiological traits reflects the history of adaptation of living organisms to the extant environment. Our research group is studying the evolution of genes associated with sensory systems, immunity, human brain function, domestication processes etc, by comparing genomes or transcriptomes between/within different species.
Tatsuya OTAAssociate Professor
Molecular evolution, Evolution of biosystems
Research Outline: Diversified biosystems exist for reproduction and immunity, which have large impact on the survival of species. To understand evolutionary mechanisms to generate heterogeneous biosystems, we are mainly studying the evolution of vertebrate immune systems and of plant reproductive systems of knotweed family (Polygonaceae) including buckwheat.
Hideyuki TANABEAssociate Professor
Molecular Cytogenetics, Evolutionary Studies of Chromosomes and Genomics
The chromosomes are occupied in the cell nucleus as “chromosome territories” that are highly compartmentalized and radially positioned in correlation with their gene densities and physical sizes. I am trying to find how these chromosome territories and genes are spatially organized and regulated within the nucleus by microdissection and 3D-FISH techniques.
Jun GOJOBORILecturer
Physical Anthropology, Molecular Evolution, Population Genetics
Our species, Homo sapiens, diverged from the common ancestor six to seven million years ago. We originated from Africa and spread worldwide. By comparing genetic diversity between species and within species, our group is investigating what kind of genes were involved in adaptation during human evolution.
Yohey TERAIAssistant Professor
The mechanism of adaptation and speciation
Biodiversity has been generated through numerous adaptation and speciation events throughout evolutionary history. My research takes the next step forward by trying to reveal 1) the mechanism of adaptation, and 2) the mechanisms of speciation caused by ecological adaptation by using vertebrates and invertebrates.
Theoretical Biology
Akira SASAKIProfessor
Mathematical Biology, Theoretical Evolutionary Biology
Akira Sasaki is working on the stochastic theory of population genetics, host-parasite coevolution, species packing theory, spatially explicit models of ecology and epidemiology, intrahost dynamics of pathogen and immune system, bet-hedging in changing environment, evolution of cooperation, evolution of mutability in fitness landscapes, restriction avoidance and the evolution of word frequency in phage genome, spatial mosaic formation in Müllerian mimicry system, epidemiology and evolution of virulence in small worlds networks, and on other problems in theoretical population biology.
Hideki INNANProfessor
Population genetics, Evolutionary genomics
Organisms evolve as a consequence of the evolution of their genomes. We aim to understand how genomes evolve under what kind of evolutionary forces including natural selection. We develop population genetic models and apply them to empirical data such as nucleotide polymorphism and copy number variation within a species and divergence between species.
Hisashi OHTSUKIAssociate Professor
Mathematical Biology, Evolutionary Game Theory
I study evolutionary origin of sociality through theoretical modeling. My research topics include kin selection, direct reciprocity, indirect reciprocity, punishment, and reward. I am also interested in evolution of human life-history strategies, evolution of learning, and gene-culture coevolution. I use the combination of analytical and numerical methods in my study.
Science and Society
Kaori IIDAAssociate Professor
History of Science
I am currently examining the history of biology in Japan in the 1920s to 1960s. In particular, I am interested in how genetics developed through various Japanese social contexts such as modernization, World Wars, the U.S. Occupation, and Cold War, and how genetic knowledge was utilized in society.
"Science and Society" Program: http://sas.soken.ac.jp/en
Yukinori OnishiLecturer
Philosophy of Science
Philosophers have long been interested in worldview and the nature of our knowledge of the world. Philosophy of science aims to answer these questions by looking at scientific theories and examining its methodologies, for science is one of the most effective means to produce knowledge about the world.
"Science and Society" Program: http://sas.soken.ac.jp/en
Collaboration support staff
Atsuko MATSUSHITALecturer
Ultrastructural neuroanatomy
The properties of neural processing depend on morphological factors such as number and shape of synapses, which can be investigated by electron microscopy (EM). I take a comparative approach combined with EM to elucidate general principles of neural functions, e.g. color vision. I also manage our communal microscope facility (TEM, SEM & CLSM).
Communal Microscope Facilities