Welcome to the Sada Lab!
Laboratory of Skin Regeneration and Aging
IRCMS, Kumamoto University, Japan
Stem cells maintain the tissue integrity during homeostasis and show remarkable plasticity to quickly respond to various stress or damages of the tissue. Dysfunction or misregulation of stem cells leads to tissue dysfunction, including impaired wound healing, cancer and aging. Emerging evidence suggests the presence of heterogeneous stem cell populations within adult tissues and their specific roles in physiological and pathological conditions. Our research focuses on elucidating the cellular dynamics and regulatory mechanisms of tissue-resident stem cells, especially using mouse epithelial tissues (skin, eyes, oral) as a model. We identified a new stem cell populations in the mouse skin epidermis (Sada et al., Nat Cell Biol 2016) and established the genetic tools and molecular markers to analyze these cells in vivo. We are currently studying stem cells in tissue regeneration and aging, by combining cell & molecular biology techniques, genetic-engineering of mice, omics analysis, bioengineering, glycobiology and so on. Our research goal is to reveal the drivers and effectors of stem cell dysfunction. Targeting these factors may prevent or cure diseases at the stem cell level, with implications for applications in regenerative therapy and for future treatments of cancer, aging and other disorders.
Sada lab seeks motivated students (master and PhD level), postdocs and collaborators from all over the world. If you're interested in pursuing research with us, please do not hesitate to contact me!
RESEARCH ENVIRONMENT
International Research Center for Medical Sciences (IRCMS) at Kumamoto University is a a cutting edge, research institute, especially focusing on stem cells, aging and cancer. Researchers in our institute enjoy Science and closely communicate with each other in a characteristic open lab system of our institute.
IRCMS website
An unofficial twitter account of Junior PIs in Kumamoto University. We tweet, at least once a day, about daily life in Kumamoto and our exciting research going on here.
LIFE IN KUMAMOTO
Kumamoto University is located in the south part of Japan (Kyushu area) and is close to the city center with traditional Japanese castle, convenient living places, shopping mall and nice foods & drinks! Kumamoto also has beautiful nature within 1 hour drive distance, where you can enjoy Aso mountains, hot springs, fishing and many other outdoor activities.
Life in Kumamoto
https://ewww.kumamoto-u.ac.jp/en/visitors/life/
Pictures in Kumamoto
WHAT'S NEW
RECRUITMENT
2021.7.21
Applications for IRCMS internships are now open. Those who are thinking of entering graduate school at Kumamoto University can stay at IRCMS for 2-8 weeks before entering the university to experience the research environment and life in Kumamoto. We are looking forward to receiving worldwide applications. If you are interested, please email or DM me!
MEETING
2021.6.26
PhD student Yen presented her poster at ISSCR. Postdoc Erna gave a talk at the annual meeting of the Japanese Society for Matrix Biology and Medicine. Thank you for the discussion!
RECRUITMENT
2021.5.26
[ Open entries for IRCMS Fellowship ] Application is now open for the fellowship for 2021 Fall enrollment. For the details, please refer to the following URL. We are looking forward to receiving world-wide entries. Deadline is June 30, 2021.
MEETING
2021.5.21-22
Yen presented her poster at the 18th stem cell research symposium, entitled "Defining diversity and similarity of epithelial stem cell populations and its anatomical environment in murine skin and oral mucosa". Aiko gave a talk about the story on the ocular surface epithelium.
MEDIA
2021.5.17
Aiko and other new PI’s stories on setting up new laboratories under the pandemic are featured in the Nature career article.
How new principal investigators tackled a tumultuous year
PUBLICATION
2021.4.22
A collaborative work has been published in Scientific Reports. Congratulations!
Kimura K, Ramirez K, Nguyen TAV, Yamashiro Y, Sada A and Yanagisawa H: Contribution of PDGFRα-positive cells in maintenance and injury responses in mouse large vessels. Sci Rep, 11(1):8683, 2021.
MEDIA
2021.4.15
Aiko's interview about her research and career is posted here!
AWARD
2021.4.6
Aiko received The Young Scientists' Award by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) .