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

Ever since I was a child, I have been fascinated by the evolution and diversification in nature. During my Ph.D., I investigated the regulatory mechanisms of polyphenism, where a single genotype produces multiple phenotypes depending on the environment, in aphids. I described the developmental processes of polyphenism and revealed the physiological mechanisms which determine the embryonic fates based on the external conditions. After getting my Ph.D., I shifted my research species to sticklebacks to identify genes and mutations responsible for phenotypic diversification. I have introduced a wide range of molecular genetic techniques to them and found the key genes and mutations important for adaptive evolution. I aim to employ comprehensive approaches to reveal the molecular and ecological mechanisms which accelerate and/or constraint the diversification in complex natural environments.