I am UECHI Hiroyuki, appointed as an Associate Professor in the Department of Histogenetic Dynamics, starting from the 2025 academic year.
In 2015, I obtained my Ph.D. from the laboratory of Professor Shigeo Murata at the Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Tokyo. My research focused on the ubiquitin-proteasome system, one of the intracellular protein degradation pathways. Subsequently, I studied epithelial tissue morphogenesis at the RIKEN (Kobe) and the Graduate School of Life Sciences at Tohoku University. Following these periods, I moved to Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics in Dresden, Germany, where I engaged in research on intracellular phase separation – the phenomenon where biological macromolecules like proteins dynamically compartmentalize and function according to their
own and surrounding thermodynamic properties. From April 2023, I was affiliated with the Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences (FRIS) at Tohoku University, and starting this academic year [2025], I have joined Kyoto University.
Since returning back to Japan, I have been combining my previous expertise to study the phenomenon of intracellular phase separation in two main biological contexts: tissue morphogenesis and cellular homeostasis. Tissue development arises from the coordinated dynamics of the constituent cell collectives. This collective cell movement is, in turn, regulated by the organized dynamics and functions of proteins, such as cell adhesion molecules and molecules responsible for generating mechanical forces.
Furthermore, in conditions like aging and neurodegenerative diseases, aberrant aggregates of specific proteins are formed in tissues which is considered a primary cause of cytotoxicity.
My aim is to elucidate the mechanisms by which biomolecules generate physiological dynamics and fulfill functions related to tissue
development and maintenance. I address this by investigating the emergence and regulatory mechanisms of the dynamics displayed by these proteins as molecular assemblies, specifically from the thermodynamic perspective of intracellular phase separation.
This research adopts a multi-scale approach, focusing on levels ranging from individual molecular entities to the dynamics of molecular
assemblies, collective cell dynamics, and ultimately, tissue morphogenesis – spanning the entire spectrum from molecules to tissues.
I believe this perspective is highly relevant and important for research in the pharmaceutical sciences.
Through my research and educational activities in this area, I hope to communicate and share the excitement and significance of science from within the Faculty and Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences.
I look forward to working with you all. Thank you.