Researchers
Signal Transduction and Biological Response
HARADA Akikazu
Status : Specially Appointed Assis. Prof.
Research Field : Tumor Biology, Molecular Biology
Profile
I graduated from Osaka University Faculty of Medicine (M.D.) in 2015 and started working as a clinician. I obtained a Ph.D. from the Graduate School of Medicine at Osaka University in 2022 and was appointed as an assistant professor at the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University (Prof. Akira Kikuchi). Since 2024, I have been holding the current position while also serving as a junior researcher at Integrated Frontier Research for Medical Science Division (iFremed), Institute for Open and Transdisciplinary Research Initiatives (OTRI), Osaka University. My research aims to elucidate how the collapse of tissue developmental processes and physiological systems leads to diseases such as inflammation and cancer. I mainly focus on how normal parenchymal and stromal cells acquire malignant cell identity through experimental and bioinformatic approaches.
Research Activities
・Acquisition of abnormal cell identity during pediatric cancer development
・Profiling of fibroblast state switching responding to the biological environment
・Novel signaling mechanisms by Wnt signaling molecules
Publications
1. Shinzawa, K., Matsumoto, S., Sada, R., Harada, A., Saitoh, K., Kato, K., Ikeda, S., Hirayama, A., Yokoi, K., Tanemura, A., Nimura, K., Ikawa, M., Soga, T., & Kikuchi, A. (2023). GREB1 isoform 4 is specifically transcribed by MITF and required for melanoma proliferation. Oncogene, 42(42), 3142–3156.
2. Matsumoto, S., Harada, A.(co-first), Seta, M., Akita, M., Gon, H., Fukumoto, T., & Kikuchi, A. (2023). Wnt Signaling Stimulates Cooperation between GREB1 and HNF4α to Promote Proliferation in Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Cancer research, 83(14), 2312–2327.
3. Harada, A., Matsumoto, S., Yasumizu, Y., Shojima, K., Akama, T., Eguchi, H., & Kikuchi, A. (2021). Localization of KRAS downstream target ARL4C to invasive pseudopods accelerates pancreatic cancer cell invasion. eLife, 10, e66721.
4. Kimura, H., Sada, R., Takada, N., Harada, A., Doki, Y., Eguchi, H., Yamamoto, H., & Kikuchi, A. (2021). The Dickkopf1 and FOXM1 positive feedback loop promotes tumor growth in pancreatic and esophageal cancers. Oncogene, 40(26), 4486–4502.