Yuma Ishigami

EDUCATION

Ph.D., Engineering, The University of Tokyo (2019) 

Master's, Engineering, The University of Tokyo (2016)

Bachelor's, Engineering, The University of Tokyo (2014) 

SUMMARY

Yuma is interested in elucidating the molecular mechanisms of splice-site recognition and selection in mammalian pre-mRNA splicing. His research involves sequence elements in cis and protein factors in trans, as well as antisense oligonucleotides and small-molecule drugs. His PhD work in Tokyo focused on post-transcriptional RNA modifications on spliceosomal components that influence the efficiency and fidelity of splicing. He continues to tackle the challenges and mysteries of the splicing code, utilizing various tools of molecular biology, biochemistry, and biostatistics.

GRANTS & FELLOWSHIPS

The Naito Foundation Subsidy for Promotion of Specific Research Projects (2017)

Grant-in-Aid for JSPS Fellows (2018-2020)

SUNBOR Scholarship, Suntory Foundation for Life Sciences (2016-2018)

DC2 Fellow, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (2018-2019)

PD Fellow, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (2019-2020)

Overseas Research Fellowships, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (2022-2024)

PUBLICATIONS

Yuma Ishigami, Mandy S. Wong, Carlos Martí-Gómez, Andalus Ayaz, Mahdi Kooshkbaghi, Sonya M. Hanson, David M. McCandlish, Adrian R. Krainer, Justin B. Kinney. Specificity, Synergy, and Mechanisms of Splice-Modifying Drugs. Nat Commun., 2024 Feb 29; 15(1):1880.

Ledong Wan, Kuang-Ting Lin, Mohammad Alinoor Rahman, Yuma Ishigami, Zhikai Wang, Mads A. Jensen, John E. Wilkinson, Youngkyu Park, David A. Tuveson, Adrian R. Krainer. Splicing Factor SRSF1 Promotes Pancreatitis and KRASG12D-Meidated Pancreatic Cancer. Cancer Discov., 2023 Apr 26;CD-22-1013. 

Dan Bar-Yaacov, Idan Frumkin, Yuka Yashiro, Takeshi Chujo, Yuma Ishigami, Yonatan Chemla, Amit Blumberg, Orr Schlesinger, Philipp Bieri, Basil Greber, Nenad Ban, Raz Zarivach, Lital Alfonta, Yitzhak Pilpel, Tsutomu Suzuki*, Dan Mishmar*. Mitochondrial 16S rRNA Is Methylated by tRNA Methyltransferase TRMT61B in All Vertebrates. PLoS Biol., 2016 Sep 15;14(9):e1002557.

Hiroki Shima, Mitsuyo Matsumoto, Yuma Ishigami, Masayuki Ebina, Akihiko Muto, Yuho Sato, Sayaka Kumagai, Kyoko Ochiai, Tsutomu Suzuki, Kazuhiko Igarashi*. S-Adenosylmethionine Synthesis Is Regulated by Selective N6-Adenosine Methylation and mRNA Degradation Involving METTL16 and YTHDC1. Cell Rep., 2017 Dec 19; 21(12):3354-3363.

Yuma Ishigami, Tsutomu Suzuki* and Takeo Suzuki*. “Mass spectrometric analysis of mitochondrial RNA modifications”, Methods in Molecular Biology, 2021;2192:89-101.

Takeo Suzuki, Yuka Yashiro, Ittoku Kikuchi, Yuma Ishigami, Hironori Saito, Ikuya Matsuzawa, Shunpei Okada, Mari Mito, Shintaro Iwasaki, Ding Ma, Xuewei Zhao, Kana Asano, Huan Lin, Yohei Kirino, Yuriko Sakaguchi and Tsutomu Suzuki*, “Complete chemical structures of human mitochondrial tRNAs”, Nature Communications, 2020 Aug 28;11(1):4269.

Yuma Ishigami, Takayuki Ohira, Yui Isokawa, Yutaka Suzuki, Tsutomu Suzuki*. “A single m6A modification in U6 snRNA diversifies exon sequence at the 5' splice site”, Nature Communications, 2021 May 28;12(1):3244.

Eichi Watabe, Marina Togo-Ohno, Yuma Ishigami, Shotaro Wani, Keiko Hirota, Mariko Kimura-Asami, Sharmin Hasan, Satomi Takei, Akiyoshi Fukamizu, Yutaka Suzuki, Tsutomu Suzuki, Hidehito Kuroyanagi*. “m6A-mediated alternative splicing coupled with nonsense-mediated mRNA decay regulates SAM synthetase homeostasis”, EMBO J., 2021 Jul 15;40(14):e106434.