Takafumi SAKAI
Research Fellow, Mechanobiology Institute, National University of Singapore
takafumi.sakai@nus.edu.sg
Level 9 T-Lab
National University of Singapore
5A Engineering Drive 1
Singapore 117411
Takafumi Sakai
Research Fellow
Principal Investigator
Research Areas
Reproductive systems, Mechanobiology
Qualifications
- PhD in Engineering, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 2025
- MSc in Engineering, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 2022
- BSc in Engineering, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 2020
Biography
Takafumi Sakai is a Research Fellow at the Mechanobiology Institute (MBI), National University of Singapore, working under the supervision of Asst. Prof. Tsuyoshi Hirashima. He received his PhD in Engineering from Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Japan, where his research focused on the functional analysis of factors regulating ciliary motility. Following the completion of his PhD, he served as an Assistant Professor at Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, where he continued his research on ciliary structure and function. His current research interests lie in the mechanobiological mechanisms underlying reproductive function, with a focus on understanding how mechanical cues regulate reproductive processes and fertility.
Technical Skills
Confocal Microscopy, Electron Microscopy (TEM, SEM)
Selected Publications
- Yoke H*, Ueno H*, Narita A*, Sakai T*, et al. (2020). Rsph4a is essential for the triplet radial spoke head assembly of the mouse motile cilia. PLoS Genetics, 16(3) (2020), e1008664. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1008664 *Shared first-authorship
- Sakai T, Kawakita M, Seki A, et al. (2025). Tppp3 determines basal body positioning and identity of respiratory cilia via microtubule assembly and sphingolipid homeostasis. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 122 (49) e2503931122. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2503931122
