Position Title
Professor
- Microbiology and Molecular Genetics
Research Interests
One of the greatest mysteries in biology concerns how life has perpetuated, and continues to perpetuate, from generation to generation. A key feature of the mammalian germline is sexual dimorphism: the dual developmental processes of spermatogenesis and oogenesis. These processes are inherently complex, which poses significant challenges to understanding the perpetuity of life and the development of treatments for germline-derived genetic and epigenetic diseases. Our research directions converge to address how epigenetic mechanisms govern spermatogenesis and oogenesis, culminating in the generation of functional sperm and eggs. Ultimately, we aim to clarify how fundamental germline mechanisms intersect to ensure genome maintenance, genome defense, and epigenetic gene regulation on a systemic level.
Graduate Program Affiliations
- 2000 B.S. Tokyo University of Science, Japan
- 2002 M.S. Tokyo University of Science, Japan
- 2005 Ph.D. Tokyo University of Science, Japan
- DAXX directs dual modes of H3.4-to-H3.3 histone replacement in the male germline.
Yeh YH, Hu M, Otsuka K, Alger BM, Nene SS, Wang H, Maezawa S, Namekawa SH. Genes Dev. 2026 Apr 14. doi: 10.1101/gad.353435.125. Online ahead of print. - Polycomb repressive-deubiquitinase complex safeguards oocyte epigenome and female fertility by restraining Polycomb activity.
Kang J, Liu P, Ichimura S, Cook L, Hu M, Namekawa SH, Chen Z. Nat Commun. 2026 Mar 19. doi: 10.1038/s41467-026-70845-x. - Polycomb Repressive Complex 1 primes non-growing oocytes for growth and early embryogenesis.
Hu M, Munakata Y, Yeh YH, Dani RG, Wang H, Hunter N, Schultz RM, Namekawa SH. Cell Res. 2026 Apr;36(4):300-303. doi: 10.1038/s41422-026-01232-w. Epub 2026 Feb 23. - The 3D genome during germline development and meiosis.
Kitamura Y, Namekawa SH. Trends Genet. 2026 Mar;42(3):255-267. doi: 10.1016/j.tig.2025.11.004. Epub 2025 Dec 16. - Restoring fertility with a lipid nanoparticle-mRNA platform: A new era in male germline therapy.
Kitamura Y, Namekawa SH. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2025 Dec 16;122(50):e2527314122. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2527314122. Epub 2025 Dec 8.