Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo Department of
Integrated Biosciences

We all suffer from diseases. In particular, noncommunicable diseases related to modern lifestyles, such as metabolic syndrome, affect many people. The susceptibility to lifestyle-related diseases is related to the genetic variants inherited from our ancestors. What was the significance of the disease-prone/resistant variants before the modern lifestyle prevailed? Our primary interest is in the relationship between obesity and adaptation to starvation and cold. We are seeking evidence that environmental adaptations in our ancestors were involved in shaping the susceptibility of modern humans to disease. To achieve this goal, we are developing research that combines a variety of methods, including phenotyping experiments on human subjects, statistical analysis using genome-wide DNA variation data, and population genetic analysis to detect traces of natural selection.