Department of Neurology, University of Occupational and Environmental Health School of Medicine

Research Interests

Research in our group focuses on molecular mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases, such as polyglutamine diseases (Huntington's disease, Kennedy's disease, and spinocerebellar ataxia), Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). To find modifiers of the diseases is the long-term goal of our research, thus providing effective treatment of these disorders.


We use a combination of cellular, molecular, biochemical, imaging, microarray, and electron microscopy approaches to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of neurodegeneration, and to develop novel therapeutics related to the protein and nucleic acid degradation system in cells.

We have also created high-throughput microarray approaches to identify chemical compound and genetic inhibitors of mutant protein aggregation and have defined an autophagy signaling pathway in the propagation of misfolding. The autophagy signaling pathway is one of important therapeutic targets.

The current research areas are:

1. To establish inducible Tet-On 3G cell (SH-SY5Y, Neuro-2a, NSC34) models of polyglutamine diseases, PD and AD.
2. To study autophagy pathways in the protein aggregation and clearance with mCherry-EGFP-LC3 cell line and immune-electron microscopy technique.
3. To screen and discovering new potent neuroprotective compounds in cell models of polyglutamine diseases, PD and AD.
4. To test innovative neuroprotective compounds using mouse models of polyglutamine diseases, PD and AD.