Shigeki Iwase PhD

EDUCATION
04/2006-08/2012 Postdoctoral Fellow
Chromatin Biology
Harvard Medical School and Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA
Mentor: Yang Shi, Ph.D

04/2001-03/2006 Ph.D.
School of Life and Environmental Science
University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan
Thesis: Functional analysis of a transcriptional corepressor BHC80 Mentor: Tadashi Baba, Ph.D.

04/1997-03/2001 B.S.
School of Life and Environmental Science
University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan

ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS
09/2012-08/2019 Assistant Professor in Human Genetics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
09/2019-present Associate Professor in Human Genetics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
09/2020-present Associate Professor in Pediatrics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
01/2022-present Affiliate, Michigan Neuroscience Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan

The goal of research group is to elucidate chromatin regulatory mechanisms engaged in development and function of the brain. Chromatin deregulation has emerged as a major cause of neurodevelopmental disorders such as intellectual disabilities, autism spectrum disorders, and schizophrenia. Post-translational modifications of histones have been recognized as a "language" describing a variety of nuclear events. Numerous mutations associated with neurodevelopmental fall into such histone modification regulators. Accurate interpretation of the histone modification network, therefore, appears to be essential for proper brain development and function. However, little is known about what chromatin regulators do in the brain and how these mutations lead to neurodevelopmental disorders. Our group aims to reveal molecular underpinnings of histone regulation in the brain, thereby understanding of the roles of chromatin in normal and pathological brains.