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Kouki Touhara

Kouki Touhara
B.S. The University of Tokyo, 2013


KoukiTouhara


 

In "The Spark of Life", Frances Ashcroft explains that every event which occurs in our body is controlled by the influx and efflux of ions. This simple but exciting notion is what drove me to study ion channels. Since Hodgkin and Huxley's beautiful work on the giant squid axon was published, a great deal of electrophysiology and structural work has been done by scientists around the world. This work has resulted in hundreds of channels being characterized, however, we still do not know the exact role of most of these ion channels in our body. This is the essence of what I am interested in: what are the physiological roles of ion channels? I hope to combine a variety of methods to tackle this important question.

My project started from a two simple ideas: "What is the role of ion channels during development?" and "What would happen if I block these channels during development?". I am currently using stem cells to characterize ion channel expression throughout development, and am analyzing these channels by means of electrophysiology experimentation. Ultimately, I want to clarify the molecular basis of the ion channel phenomena in different stages of development.

Kouki TouharaB.S. The University of Tokyo, 2013 In "The Spark of Life", Frances Ashcroft explains that every event which occurs in our body is controlled by the influx and efflux of i