Dr Aya Takesono

About me:

I am a research fellow who is currently working on molecular embryology using the zebrafish embryo. My scientific expertise includes biochemistry, molecular biology, pharmacology, immunology and mouse genetics in combination with cell biology techniques. My recent research greatly focuses on the study of molecular mechanisms underlining cell movement.

My research focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms underlining cell migration, which are fundamental to a variety of physiological and pathological processes, including embryonic development, tissue repair, immune responses, and cancer cell metastasis. In particular, I am currently working on primordial germ cell (PGC) migration using the zebrafish embryo as a model organism.

The zebrafish embryo is an ideal model system for studying PGC migration due to 1) the transparency of the embryo, allowing in vivo analyses of cell migration and development, 2) the availability of various mutant stocks and the morpholino antisense oligo nucleotide gene knockdown system, and 3) the availability of PGC marker genes, for which localisation and functions are well characterised.

Using this system, I aim to address whether and how cytoskeleton dynamics and their regulators contribute to PGC migration. In addition to the studying orginary cell migration, I also plan to investigate the effects of environmental toxins on PGC migration, which have been shown to alter germ cells and the gonads development, leading to the reproductive defects.

1999 PhD Pharmacology, University of Tokyo, Japan
1996 MSc Pharmacology, University of Tokyo, Japan
1994 BSc Pharmacology, Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sc

2007-present Royal Society Research Fellow, School of Biosciences, University of Exeter, UK
2003-2006 Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, University College London, UK
2003-2000 Postdoctoral Research Fellow, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institute of Health, USA