As of April 1, 2015, promotion and support of research in this research area including all projects currently under implementation have been transferred to the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED).

Strategic Objective

Research Supervisor

Outline

For healthy life and development of novel strategies for disease prevention, diagnosis, and therapy, this research area focuses on discovery of new principles and establishment of fundamental medical technologies based on epigenome analyses accompanied by biological analyses.
Specifically, this research area invites proposals that identify epigenome alterations useful for identification of etiologies or those critically involved in development and progression of cancers or other chronic disorders, such as arteriosclerosis, diabetes, neurological diseases, and autoimmune diseases. The findings should lead to identification of novel mechanisms for induction of epigenome alteration or maintenance of epigenomes or to innovative strategies for disease prevention, diagnosis, and therapy. This area also invites proposals that, by comparing epigenome profiles during stem cell differentiation, reveal mechanisms of cellular differentiation and establish technologies for robust directed differentiation of various cells to specific lineages. Furthermore, this area invites proposals that develop key technologies for more efficient analysis of methylomes and histone modifications, and for control of epigenomes.
In this research area, JST cooperates with the International Human Epigenome Consortium (IHEC) through some proposals.

Research teams aiming to conduct the standard epigenome analysis on a large scale to contribute the International Human Epigenome Consortium (IHEC) have the special contents. This contents will give you more details.

Research Area Advisors

・Tsutomu CHIBA
Professor, Kyoto University

・Akiyoshi FUKAMIZU
Professor, University of Tsukuba

・Takeo KUBOTA
Professor, University of Yamanashi

・Ken-ichirou MOROHASHI
Professor, Kyushu University

・Hozumi MOTOHASHI
Professor, Tohoku University

・Kazumi NISHIJIMA
Manager, Mochida Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.

・Shoji TAJIMA
Professor, Osaka University

・Toshihisa TAKAGI
Professor, the University of Tokyo

・Masayo TAKAHASHI
Project Leader, RIKEN

・Minoru YOSHIDA
Chief Scientist, RIKEN

Year Started : 2013

Epigenome changes by environmental factors and diseases

Research Director:
Shunsuke Ishii(Distingusihed senior scientist, RIKEN)

Analysis and application for regulation of cell function on linked mechanisms of enhancer dynamics and transcription regulation by epigenetic control

Research Director:
Haruhiko Koseki(Group Director, RIKEN)

Mechanisism of transgenerational epigenetic regulation in germ cells

Research Director:
YASUHISA MATSUI(professor, Tohoku University)

Epigenetic Analysis of the Mechanisms of Metabolic Control and Their Disruption in Type 2 Diabetes and Obesity

Research Director:
Toshimasa Yamauchi(Lecturer, University of Tokyo)

Regulation of Immunological Disorders by Modification of Epigenetics of T cells

Research Director:
Akihiko Yoshimura(professor, Keio University School of Medicine)

Year Started : 2012

Identification of factors to modify and resist epigenomic alteration induction

Research Director:
Atsushi Kaneda(Associate Professor, The University of Tokyo)

Epigenome analysis of cells in the placenta and endometrium forming the fetal-maternal interface

Research Director:
Hiroyuki Sasaki(Distinguished Professor and Director, Kyushu University)

Basic studies aimed for an epigenome-based therapy: proof of concept in brain function

Research Director:
Yoichi Shinkai(Chief Scientist, RIKEN)

Molecular regulation and analysis of the establishment of epigenome

Research Director:
Toru Nakano(Professor, Osaka University)

Understanding the epigenetic modifications related to cancer development and regression

Research Director:
Tatsutoshi Nakahata(Professor, Kyoto University)

Year Started : 2011

Elucidating epigenomeloops of cell differentiation using quantitative ChIP-Seq method

Research Director:
Kazuhiko Igarashi (Professor, Tohoku University)

Epigenome analysis of mental disorders using advanced technologies

Research Director:
Tadafumi Kato(Head, Riken)

Reference epigenome analysis in normal epithelial cells of human digestive system and development of analysis technology

Research Director:
Yae Kanai(Deputy Director, National Cancer Center Research Institute)

Study of the molecular mechanism in the pluripotency maintenance of stem cells and three-dimensional mapping of the epigenome structure.

Research Director:
Masahiro Shirakawa(Professor, Kyoto University)

Development of genomic technologies to explore human epigenetic regulation

Research Director:
Katsuhiko Shirahige(Professor, University of Tokyo)

Molecular mechanisms underlying direct reprogramming of fibroblasts to hepatocytes and applications thereof

Research Director:
Atsushi Suzuki(Professor, Kyushu University)

Mechanism of higher-order epigenome regulation and its medical significance

Research Director:
Mitsuyoshi Nakao(Professor, Kumamoto University)

Epigenetic drug development to prevent pervasive developmental disorders

Research Director:
Masatoshi Hagiwara(Professor, Kyoto University)

New diagnostic and therapeutic tools targeting epigenetic modulation for lifestyle-related disease

Research Director:
Toshiro Fujita(Professor, University of Tokyo)