Yuichi Niikura, PhD

Research Fellow

Education and Training
Kitasato University (Japan), BS, Pharmaceutical Sciences 
Kitasato University (Japan), MS, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology 
University of Tokyo (Japan), PhD, Medicine-Cell Biology
University of Tokyo (Japan), Postdoc, Developmental Biology 

Positions and Honors
Positions and Employment:
2003 - 2005:      Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Insitute of Medical Sciences/
                          University of Tokyo
2005 - present: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Massachusetts General 
                          Hospital/Harvard Medical School

Selected peer-reviewed publications

1) Watanabe H, Saitoh K, Kameda T, Murakami M, Niikura Y, Okazaki S, Morishita Y, Mori S, Yokouchi Y, Kuroiwa A, Iba H. Chondrocytes as a specific target of ectopic Fos expression in early development. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 1997. 94 : 3994-3999.

2) Murakami M, Watanabe H, Niikura Y, Kameda T, Saitoh K, Yamamoto M, Yokouchi Y, Kuroiwa A, Mizumoto K, Iba H. High-level expression of exogenous genes by replication-competent retrovirus vectors with an internal ribosomal entry site. Gene. 1997; 202: 23-29

3) Tsukamoto T. Shibagaki Y, Niikura Y, Mizumoto K. Cloning and characterization of three human cDNAs encoding mRNA (guanine-7-)-methyltransferase, an mRNA cap methylase. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1998; 251: 27-34.

4) Niikura Y, Nonaka T, Imajoh-Ohmi S. Monitoring of caspase-8/FLICE processing and activation upon Fas stimulation with novel antibodies directed against a cleavage site for caspase-8 and its substrate, FLICE-like inhibitory protein (FLIP). J Biochem. 2002; 132: 53-62.

5) Kubota Y, Oike Y, Satoh S, Tabata Y, Niikura Y, Morisada T, Akao M, Urano T, Ito Y, Miyamoto T, Yasunaga K, Watanabe S, Suda T. Isolation and expression patterns of three angiopoietin-related proteins in zebrafish. Mech Dev. In press.