Yousuke Takahama, Ph.D.

The current interest of our laboratory is to understand molecular mechanisms (1) that build functionally competent thymus microenvironments, which are capable of supporting the production and selection of T cells, (2) that govern thymic selection to establish a functionally competent repertoire of mature T cells, and (3) that position developing T cells to localize within the thymus microenvironments for T cell repertoire formation.
1) thymus biology, 2) thymic epithelial cells, 3) thymus development, 4) T cell development, 5) T cell repertoire selection, 6) T cell self-tolerance
Contact Info
Center for Cancer Research
National Cancer Institute
Building 10, Room 4B10
Bethesda, MD 20892
Ph: 240-858-3223
yousuke.takahama@nih.gov
The questions we would like to address in the next few years include how cortical and medullary microenvironments in the thymus positively and negatively select functionally potent and self-tolerant T cell repertoire. We would also like to study the mechanisms involved in how diverse microenvironments are formed in the thymus to shape T cell repertoire and how multiple thymic microenvironments sequentially guide to position developing T cells for their repertoire formation.
Selected Recent Publications
- J Exp Med. 218: e20201904, 2021. Full-Text Article [ Journal Article ]
- Cell Reports. 29: 2901-2916, 2019. Full-Text Article [ Journal Article ]
- J Immunol. 200: 1382-1388 , 2018. Full-Text Article [ Journal Article ]
- J Exp Med. 214: 1925-1935, 2017. Full-Text Article [ Journal Article ]
- Nat Commun. 8: 14419, 2017. Full-Text Article [ Journal Article ]
Yousuke Takahama received his Ph.D. from Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine in Japan. He was a visiting fellow and visiting associate in the Experimental Immunology Branch, National Cancer Institute, where he studied thymocyte development and selection. He then started working on the biology of thymic microenvironments at Syntex Institute of Immunology and the University of Tsukuba in Japan. In 1999, he was appointed a Professor of Experimental Immunology, University of Tokushima. In 2018, he moved back to the United States to establish a new laboratory as a Senior Investigator in Experimental Immunology Branch, National Cancer Institute. He is a founding organizer of the Global Thymus Network. His main interests are the development and function of the thymus and thymic epithelial cells, especially with regard to the repertoire selection of T lymphocytes.
Position | Degree Required | Contact Name | E-mail Address |
---|---|---|---|
Post-doctoral Fellow - immunology, developmental biology, molecular biology | Ph.D. or equivalent, M.D. or equivalent | Yousuke Takahama | yousuke.takahama@nih.gov |
Name | Position |
---|---|
Alison Jacques M.S. | Biologist |
Melina Frantzeskakis B.S. | Biologist (Contr.) |
Mami Lennikov Ph.D. | Research Fellow |
Jamie-Jean Gilmer | Postbaccalaureate Fellow (CRTA) |
Aya Ushio Ph.D., D.D.S. | Postdoctoral Fellow (Visiting) |