Speaker: Mitsutoshi Nakada（Professor / Department of Neurosurgery, Kanazawa University）

Title: Neuroscience conducted by neurosurgeon

Date&Time:  Jan 15, 2027 (Fri) 17:30-

Venue: Lecture room 2, Medical Education & Library Building 3F.

※　Click here for the details

Speaker: Shingo Iwami（Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University）

Title: Analyzing Clinical Data through Data Science

Date&Time:  Dec 2, 2026  (Wed) 17:30-

Venue: Lecture room 2, Medical Education & Library Building 3F.

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Speaker: Nobuaki Takahashi（Professor / Synthetic Chemistry and Biological Chemistry, Kyoto University）

Title: Life and Stress: An Evolutionary Journey Through Adaptive Strategies

Date&Time:  Nov 18, 2026 (Wed) 17:30-

Venue: Lecture room 2, Medical Education & Library Building 3F.

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Speaker: Yusuke Kishi（Associate Professor / Institute for Quantitative Biosciences, The University of Tokyo）

Title: The role of epigenetics in neurons and brain function

Date&Time:  Oct 21, 2026 (Wed) 17:30-

Venue: Lecture room 2, Medical Education & Library Building 3F.

※　Click here for the details

Speaker: Motohiro Yamauchi（Division Head / Central Radioisotope Division, National Cancer Center Research Institute）

Title: Roles of mRNA splicing factors in DNA repair and the maintenance of genome integrity

Date&Time:  Oct 16, 2026 ( Fri ) 17:30-

Venue: Lecture room 2, Medical Education & Library Building 3F.

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Speaker: Kunimasa Ota（Professor / Department of Stem Cell Biology, Faculty of Arts and Science, Kyushu University）

Title: Regulation of neural stem cells by extracellular factors (Tsukushi and Akhirin)

Date&Time:  Oct 2, 2026 (Fri) 17:30-

Venue: Lecture room 2, Medical Education & Library Building 3F.

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Speaker: Hirohisa Kyogoku (Associate Professor, Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Kobe University)

Title: From Oocytes to Early Embryos: Specialized Cell Division Strategies for Maintaining Genome Stability

Date&Time: 30 September (wed)　12：00-13：00

Venue: Conference Room(1F), IMEG, Kumamoto University  On site + Zoom

※This seminar can also be attended through ZOOM. Please check the URL on “S-HIGO Cutting-Edge Seminar A, B” at Moodle.

https://md.kumamoto-u.ac.jp/course/view.php?id=136783

Abstract:

Early mammalian development is characterized by a series of rapid cell divisions that occur without accompanying cell growth. Oocytes and zygotes possess exceptionally large cytoplasmic volumes, containing abundant maternal factors that support early embryogenesis. These unique cellular environments raise a fundamental question: do oocytes and early embryos employ the same mechanisms of cell division and genome maintenance as somatic cells?

In this seminar, I will present our recent studies revealing stage-specific strategies that safeguard genome integrity during early mammalian development. First, I will describe how the exceptionally large cytoplasmic volume of oocytes compromises spindle stability and spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) efficiency, thereby increasing the risk of chromosome segregation errors. Next, I will introduce our recent finding that the two parental pronuclei in the zygote compete for limiting cytoplasmic factors required for nuclear assembly, thereby regulating pronuclear size, epigenetic state, and developmental potential. Finally, I will discuss how the DNA replication timing program is progressively established during preimplantation development, and how its emergence is closely associated with replication stress and genome instability.

Together, these studies demonstrate that oocytes and early embryos employ specialized cell division strategies that differ fundamentally from those of somatic cells. By integrating live-cell imaging with single-cell genomic and epigenomic approaches, our work provides new insights into the mechanisms that preserve genome integrity during the earliest stages of mammalian life.

Speaker: ODA, Jun（Professor / The University of Osaka Graduate School of Medicine）

Title: Medicine at Mass Gatherings: Establishing Healthcare Systems and Clinical Outcomes: The Case of Osaka-Kansai Expo 2025

Date&Time:  Sep 16, 2026(Wed) 17:30-

Venue: Lecture room 2, Medical Education & Library Building 3F.

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Speaker: Ayuko Hoshino（Professor / RCAST, University of Tokyo）

Title: Exosomes in pathophysiological conditions

Date&Time:  Sep 9, 2026 (Wed) 17:30-

Venue: Lecture room 2, Medical Education & Library Building 3F.

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Speaker: Tomoya Kitajima (RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research)

Title: Understanding and preventing age-associated chromosome segregation errors in oocytes

Date&Time: 2 September (wed)　12：00-13：00

Venue: Conference Room(1F), IMEG, Kumamoto University  On site + Zoom

※This seminar can also be attended through ZOOM. Please check the URL on “S-HIGO Cutting-Edge Seminar A, B” at Moodle.

https://md.kumamoto-u.ac.jp/course/view.php?id=136783

Abstract:

Egg aneuploidy is a leading cause of miscarriage and congenital disorders such as Down syndrome. It arises from chromosome segregation errors during oocyte meiosis, with incidence increasing markedly with maternal age. However, the oocyte-intrinsic features and age-associated defects that promote these errors remain incompletely understood.

Using mouse oocytes as a model, we investigate chromosome dynamics and the cellular machinery driving meiotic chromosome segregation, including the spindle and kinetochores. We have identified multiple oocyte-intrinsic factors that predispose oocytes to segregation errors, including (1) mechanisms governing spindle bipolarization and (2) regulation of kinetochore–microtubule attachments. In addition, we have found that (3) premature chromosome separation represents a major age-associated defect. In this talk, I will present our recent findings on the cell biological basis of chromosome segregation errors in oocytes and discuss emerging error-prevention strategies using synthetic tools currently under development.