Affiliation: Harvard University, Center for Brain Science, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology

Dr. Masahito is an associate at the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Center for Brain Science at Harvard University. Dr.  obtained his PhD in Chemistry from Nagoya University, Japan, and studied extracellular matrix molecules in chick embryos.  During his career, he has been working on chick embryos using cutting-edge molecular techniques since then.  After a short stay in the Dr. Masatoshi Takeichi laboratory in Kyoto University, Japan as a postdoctoral fellow, he initiated working on the chick retinotectal system in the Dr. Joshua Sanes laboratory at Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO. From 1994-1998, he worked as an assistant professor at the National Institute of Basic Biology, Okazaki, Japan.  After moving to Harvard University, Cambridge, MA in 2004, he also started using the mouse retina. His current research interests include the function and development of neural circuits and cell recognition molecules in the visual system.