Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Biology (ASHBi) was launched in October 2018 with funding from the World Premier International Research Center Initiative (WPI) Program of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). The Institute inaugurates with 13 principal investigators (PIs) to create and promote human biology to elucidate key principles of human traits, including disease states. The Institute will perform interdisciplinary research between biology and mathematics (machine learning and topological data analysis) and between biology and humanities/social sciences (bioethics and philosophy on life), respectively. The Institute will implement two research development cores for cutting-edge single-cell genome information analysis and primate genome editing, respectively. The Institute will establish a link with international institutions such as the EMBL, University of Cambridge, and Karolinska Institute, creating a stratified organization for research promotion and strengthening its international profile.
The Institute will target humans and non-human primates as major research subjects in an effort to uncover the design principles of human beings and disease states, through a multi-disciplinary science approach.
Understanding the basic biology of human beings is a fundamental challenge in life sciences. It has so far been demonstrated that basic processes for life have largely been conserved during evolution. On the other hand, there are clear species differences, and consequently, the knowledge gleaned from model organisms has often been difficult to translate to human biology. For example, compared to mice, humans have secured a much longer time span for individual development and growth, acquired unique metabolic regulations, and achieved a remarkable development of brain functions.
ASHBi performs systematic investigations into humans and non-human primates, and also elucidates the mechanistic basis of species differences — i.e., the diversity of life forms driven by evolution —, with an aim to clarify key biological traits that make us “human” and their disease states. ASHBi creates open and flexible international research environment, and fully support motivated, early-career investigators.
Cell Biology/
Developmental Biology
Yamashiro, C., Sasaki, K., Yabuta, Y., Kojima, Y., Nakamura, T., Okamoto, I., Yokobayashi, S., Murase, Y., Ishikura, Y., Shirane, K., Sasaki, H., Yamamoto, T., and Saitou, M. (2018). Generation of human oogonia from induced pluripotent stem cells in vitro, Science, 362, 356-360.
Kojima, Y., Sasaki, K., Yokobayashi, S., Sakai, Y., Nakamura, T., Yabuta, Y., Nakaki, F., Nagaoka, S., Woltjen, K., Hotta, A., Yamamoto, T., and Saitou, M. (2017). Evolutionarily Distinctive Transcriptional and Signaling Programs Drive Human Germ Cell Lineage Specification from Pluripotent Stem Cells, Cell Stem Cell, 21, 517-532.
Miyauchi, H., Ohta, H., Nagaoka, S., Nakaki, F., Sasaki, K., Hayashi, K., Yabuta, Y., Nakamura, T., Yamamoto, T., and Saitou, M. (2017). Bone morphogenetic protein and retinoic acid synergistically specify female germ cell fate in mice, The EMBO Journal, 36, 3100-3119.
Hirota, T., Ohta, H., Powell, B. E., Mahadevaiah, S., K., Ojarikre, O. A., *Saitou, M., and *Turner, J. M. A. (2017). Fertile offspring from sterile sex chromosome trisomic mice, Science, 357, 932-935. * Co-correspondence
Ishikura, Y., Yabuta, Y., Ohta, H., Hayashi, K., Nakamura, T., Okamoto, I., Yamamoto, T., Kurimoto, K., Shirane, K., Sasaki, H., and Saitou, M. (2016). In Vitro Derivation and Propagation of Spermatogonial Stem Cell Activity from Mouse Pluripotent Stem Cells, Cell Reports, 17, 2789-2804.
Sasaki, K., Nakamura, T., Okamoto, I., Yabuta, Y., Iwatani, C., Tsuchiya, H., Seita, Y., Nakamura, S., Shiraki, N., Takakuwa, T., Yamamoto, T., and Saitou, M. (2016). The Germ Cell Fate of Cynomolgus Monkeys is Specified in the Nascent Amnion, Developmental Cell, 39, 169-185.
Nakamura, T., Okamoto, I., Sasaki, K., Yabuta, Y., Iwatani, C., Tsuchiya, H., Seita, Y., Nakamura, S., Yamamoto, T., and Saitou, M. (2016). A developmental coordinate of pluripotency among mice, monkeys, and humans, Nature, 537, 57-62.
Saitou, M. and Miyauchi, H. (2016). Gametogenesis from Pluripotent Stem Cells, Cell Stem Cell, 18, 721-735.
Sasaki, K., Yokobayashi, S., Nakamura, T., Okamoto, I., Yabuta, Y., Kurimoto, K., Ohta, H., Moritoki, Y., Iwatani, C., Tsuchiya, H., Nakamura, S., Sekiguchi, K., Sakuma, T., Yamamoto, T., Mori, T., Woltjen, K., Nakagawa, M., Yamamoto, T., Takahashi, K., Yamanaka, S., and Saitou, M. (2015). Robust In Vitro Induction of Human Germ Cell Fate from Pluripotent Stem Cells, Cell Stem Cell, 17, 178-194.
Kurimoto, K., Yabuta, Y., Hayashi, K., Ohta, H., Kiyonari, H., Mitani, T., Moritoki, Y., Kohri, K., Kimura, H., Yamamoto, T., Katou, Y., Shirahige, K., and Saitou, M. (2015). Quantitative Dynamics of Chromatin Remodeling during Germ Cell Specification from Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells, Cell Stem Cell, 16, 517-532
Tadashi Isa
Vice Director
Division
Professor, Department of Physiology and Neurobiology, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University
Specialty
Neuroscience
Yasuaki Hiraoka
Vice Director
Division
Professor, Kyoto University Institute for Advanced Study, Kyoto University
Specialty
Applied Mathematics
Takuya Yamamoto
Head of the Research Development Core
Division
Associate Professor, Department of Life Science Frontiers and Application, Center for iPS Cell Research and Application, Kyoto University
Specialty
Molecular Biology, Bioinformatics
Anne Ferguson-Smith
Senior Academic Mentor
Division
Arthur Balfour Professor of Genetics and Head of the Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge
Specialty
Epigenetic Inheritance, Mammalian Developmental Genetics
Guillaume Bourque
Division
Professor, Human Genetics, McGill University
Specialty
Bioinformatics, Genomics, Epigenomics
Seishi Ogawa
Division
Professor, Department of Pathology and Tumor Biology, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University
Specialty
Molecular Oncology
Hideki Ueno
Division
Professor, Department of Microbiology Global Health and Emerging Pathogens Institute Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Specialty
Human Immunology
Takashi Hiiragi
Division
Group Leader, Developmental Biology Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory
Specialty
Developmental Biology
Mototsugu Eiraku
Division
Professor, Laboratory of Developmental System, Institite for Frontier Life and Medical Sciences, Kyoto University
Specialty
Developmental Biology
Motoko Yanagita
Division
Professor, Department of Nephrology, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University
Specialty
Nephrology
Misao Fujita
Division
Professor, Uehiro Research Division for iPS Cell Ethics, Center for iPS Cell Research and Application, Kyoto University
Specialty
Bioethics
Masatsugu Ema
Division
Professor, Department of Stem Cells and Human Disease Models, Research Center for Animal Life Science, Shiga University of Medical Science
Specialty
Developmental Biology, Developmental Engineering
Cantas Alev
Division
Associate Professor, ASHBi, Kyoto University Institute for Advanced Study, Kyoto University
Specialty
Developmental Biology
Tadashi Ogawa
Administrative Director
Division
Professor, ASHBi, Kyoto University Institute for Advanced Study, Kyoto University
Specialty
Cognitive Neuroscience, Neurophysiology
Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) recently selected the Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Biology (ASHBi) for participation in the World Premier International Research Center (WPI) Program, establishing it within Kyoto University Institute for Advanced Study (KUIAS) on 30th October 2018 with Mitinori Saitou, a world-leading developmental biologist, at its head.
ASHBi is now calling for applications, as described below.
Address
Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Biology (ASHBi)
Faculty of Medicine Bldg. B, Kyoto University
Yoshida-Konoe-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
Access
Kyoto City Bus #31/65/201/206 “Konoedori” Bus Stop
Keihan Railway “Jingu-marutamachi” Station –> 10 min walk from No.5 exit