Research
The overarching goal of Dr. Yoshihara’s laboratory is to understand the origin of life and human physiology through the use of state-of-the-art biomedical technologies. His research focuses on uncovering spatial gene expression patterns and metabolic regulation during development and physiological processes, with the ultimate aim of translating this knowledge into novel therapeutics for diabetes and its related complications.
To achieve these objectives, the lab employs a multidisciplinary approach that integrates multiomics analyses—including genomics, proteomics, and biochemistry—with advanced model systems and AI-based machine learning. These include human organogenesis models derived from pluripotent stem cells and tissue-specific adult stem cells. Additionally, genetic animal models are utilized to gain deeper insights into pathophysiology. Dr. Yoshihara is also committed to the development of neo-futuristic biotechnologies that have the potential to significantly impact human health and benefit society at large.
The specific themes of the projects are below.
- Human Pancreatic Islet Development: Investigating the organogenesis, functional maturation, and immune evasion mechanisms of human pancreatic islets.
- Islet Microenvironment and Regulatory Mechanisms: Exploring the cellular and molecular interactions within the pancreatic islet microenvironment and their roles in physiological regulation.
- Tissue-Specific Gene Function in Systemic Physiology: Elucidating the roles of tissue-specific genes in maintaining whole-body physiological balance and function.
- Biotechnological Innovation for Regenerative Medicine: Developing advanced biotechnologies for regenerative medicine, including the creation of functional human organs.
- AI-Based Tools for Cellular Analysis: Designing artificial intelligence-driven software to analyze cell differentiation pathways and cellular functions.
Biography
Dr. Eiji Yoshihara is a principal investigator in The Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and an Assistant Professor in the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.
As an undergraduate student, Dr.Yoshihara majored in computer science and physics and minored in developmental biology using Xenopus laevis as experimental model at Yamaguchi University in Japan. As a graduate student at Kyoto University, Dr.Yoshihara studied the function of thioredoxin interacting protein (Txnip) in the feeding-fasting metabolic transition with pancreatic islet physiology, and identified and characterized novel players in the glucose and lipid homeostasis in a mouse model of diabetes. During postdoctoral training in the Salk Institute, Dr.Yoshihara pioneered the study of nuclear receptors and gene regulation, and the organogenesis using human pluripotent stem cell technology.
Dr.Yoshihara’s lab is seeking the spatiotemporal gene regulation in development and physiology and aiming to engineer the cell products for the better solution to cure both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.