Ecology, Evolution, and Bioinformatics

Hi!

I am an Assistant Professor at the Ogata lab in Kyoto University.

A long-term goal of my research is to understand the diversity, ecology, and evolution of viruses that infect eukaryotes in aquatic environments. Why is this important? What we do know, a little, is that viruses are the most abundant biological entities in aquatic ecosystems. Given that, their impact, though invisible to our naked eyes, on the blue planet is profound. Viruses can regulate ecological communities by killing their hosts (including all organisms from bacteria to fish) and by doing so, they play key roles in biogeochemical cycles.

Besides these, viruses also have the capacity to reprogram host metabolism and facilitate the evolution of life. Yet, our understanding of these processes is even more limited. What viruses are doing is like piloting a robot, and, at the same time, evolving with it. This is where the imagination of EVA (Evangelion) comes in: How high can the synchronization rate go between the Pilot (virus) and the EVA (host)? Where is the divergency between Human (virus) and Shito (cellular organisms)?

That’s why I'd like to focus on viruses that infect eukaryotes. Because with complex biological systems of eukaryotes, viral evolution may also have reached tips in some sense. Of course, these are child-like questions raised in a way of metaphor. But by exploring it, might I arrive at the answer to that ultimate question: What is life?

My current work focuses on computational, data-driven analyses and field observations, both independently and in collaboration with my guide, Hiroyuki Ogata. In the future, I hope to find more like-minded comrades to explore these questions together.