Makoto Furutani-Seiki

Makoto Furutani-Seiki is a Japanese molecular biologist who is a professor of Systems Biochemistry in the School of Medicine at Yamaguchi University, Japan.

Education Furutani-Seiki was educated at the Yamaguchi University School of Medicine, Japan where he was awarded Doctor of Medicine (M.D) in 1985. He completed his postgraduate study at the Department of Immunology, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Japan where he was awarded a Ph.D in Immunology supervised by Tomio Tada in 1989.

Furutani-Seiki research study investigates the molecular mechanisms of mechono-homeostasis in which extracellular mechanical cues are integrated with cell differentiation and proliferation to maintain tissue, organ and body form.

As part of his contribution to the field of Science, Furutani-Seiki discovered a single gene whose product is essential for the body and organs to keep their 3D shape and withstand external forces such as gravity. The gene was discovered through the analysis of a medaka fish mutant with a unique flattened phenotype which was identified by the combination of the mutagenesis screen in zebrafish with another screen in medaka fish. His work further investigates the single cell lineage and regionalisation of cell populations during medaka neurulation.

Furutani-Seiki led an international team of researchers from the University of Bath, UK Centre for Regenerative Medicine that identified a gene that helps the body resist gravity and demonstrated what happens when the system goes wrong. , he held a visiting professorship in Bath's Department of Biology and Biochemistry. He's also a Senior Research Fellow UK of the Medical Research Council (MRC). He's also a professional member of the American Association of Cancer Research and the Molecular Biology Society of Japan.

Selected publications