Professor Takeshi Sakurai

To elucidate physiological roles of neuropeptides, especially related to wakefulness and emotion

To search for novel bioactive neuropeptides

To elucidate function and structure of sleep/wake system

To elucidate physiological roles of neuropeptides, especially related to wakefulness and emotion

Biography 

1964 Born in Tokyo
1993 Ph.D. Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba
1993 - 1993 Postdoctoral Fellow, Research Fellowship for Young Scientist(JSPS)
1993 - 1999 Lecturer, Faulty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba
1999 - 2004 Associate Professor, Faulty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba
2004 - 2008 Associate Professor, Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba
2008 - 2016 Professor, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kanazawa University
2016 Present Professor, International Institute for Integrative Sleep Medicine, University of Tsukuba

Major achievements

Sakurai T. The role of orexin in motivated behaviours. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2014,15(11):719-31.

Sakurai T, et al. Orexins and orexin receptors: A family of hypothalamic neuropeptides and G protein-coupled receptors that regulate feeding behavior. Cell 92:573-585, 1998

Sakurai T, Yanagisawa M, Takuwa Y, Miyazaki H, Kimura S, Goto K, Masaki T. Cloning of a cDNA encoding a non-isopetide-selective subtype of the endothelin receptor. Nature 48:732-735, 1990