Kazushige Touhara
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Born
Japan
AlmamaterThe University of Tokyo
KnownforOlfaction, Pheromone, Taste, Neuroscience
FieldsChemoreception
Kazushige Touhara | |
|---|---|
| Born | Japan |
| Alma mater | The University of Tokyo |
| Known for | Olfaction, Pheromone, Taste, Neuroscience |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Chemoreception |
| Institutions | The University of Tokyo |
| Doctoral advisor | Glenn D. Prestwich |
| Other academic advisors | Robert Lefkowitz |
Kazushige Touhara (ja: 東原 和成) is a Japanese biologist, neuroscientist, and a professor at the University of Tokyo, Japan.
After training in the field of organic chemistry,[1] insect endocrinology,[2] and GPCR signaling,[3] he began to establish his team to conducted research on chemoreception with support from Hiroshi Kataoka.[4]
In 2024, he serves as the head of the Union of Japanese Societies for Biological Science and is involved in initiatives such as advocating for the doubling of Japan's scientific research funding.[5] Additionally, he has published several essays focused on improving education and scientific research in Japan.[6][7]
Plants
Insects
- Detection of olfactory signals using Xenopus oocytes with using a co-receptor.[10]
- Demonstration that insect olfactory receptors are ion channels, not GPCRs.[11]
- Detection of taste signals using Xenopus oocytes without using any co-receptors.[12]
Mammals
- Functional characterization of an olfactory receptor expressed in olfactory neurons.[13]
- Functional characterization of an olfactory receptor expressed in tissues other than olfactory neurons.[14]
- Detection of olfactory signals in vitro.[15]
- Identification of a natural ligand of an olfactory receptor.[16]
- Identification of a musk olfactory receptor.[17]
- Discovery of tears as a pheromone source.[18][19][20][21][22]
- Discovery of blood as a chemosensory cue.[23]
Human
Awards and honors
- Frank Allison Linville's RH Wright Award in Olfactory Research (2006)
- Japan Academy Medal (2009)
- Kunio Yamazaki Distinguished Lectureship Award (2017)
