Affiliation: Kanazawa University, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Department of Cellular and Molecular Function Analysis

Dr. Naoto Nagata investigates the role of liver in systemic energy homeostasis and metabolic disease pathogenesis. He received his PhD in Pharmacy at Kanazawa University in 2007 and established a mouse model of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) with a high-fat and high-cholesterol diet. This work made him realize that hepatic insulin signaling plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of metabolic diseases, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, and NAFLD. Dr. Nagata moved to the University of California, Davis for his post-doctoral fellowship with Dr. Fawaz Haj. He uncovered the metabolic roles of protein tyrosine phosphatase in the liver, one of the key regulators of hepatic insulin signaling. Dr. Nagata works as a Lecturer in the Department of Molecular Function Analysis at Kanazawa University to focus on how to overcome obesity and NAFLD using animal models.