Hiroyuki MORIGUCHI / Lecturer / Division of Environmental Sciences Department of Human and Engineered Environmental Studies / / Lab-on-a-Chip, Neuroscience, Soft Matter Engineering http://www.dt.k.u-tokyo.ac.jp/ Career Summary 2001: BSc, College of Arts and Sciences (University of Tokyo) 2006: PhD, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (University of Tokyo) 2006: JSPS Research Fellowship for Young Scientists 2008: Assistant Professor (University of Tokyo) 2009-present: Lecturer (University of Tokyo) Educational Activities Coaching undergraduate and graduate students on research projects Research Activities Nowadays, it has become possible to build artificial multicellular organisms from isolated living cells by utilizing, for example, materials science and micron-scale technology in combination (1-4). An example of an array of isolated miniature neuronal networks, each built from several neurons and/or glial cells, is shown in Fig. 1. These networks showed spontaneous activity, which could be monitored at any points of interest by using microelectrodes (Fig. 2). This "build and measure" approach will enable understanding of the mechanism underlying such multicellular activity (5-8). Fig. 1: Array of small neuronal networks Fig. 2: Extracellular recording of activity of small neuronal networks Literature 1) H. Moriguchi et al., "An agar-microchamber cell-cultivation system: flexible change of microchamber shapes during cultivation by photo-thermal etching," Lab on a Chip, vol. 2, issue 2, pp. 125--130 (2002) 2) H. Moriguchi et al., "Microfabrication of hydrogels for the constructional analysis of cultured cellular networks with controlled network shapes and community sizes," 8th International Conference on Miniaturized Systems for Chemistry and Life Sciences (microTAS 2004), pp. 393--395 (2004, Malmo, Sweden) 3) H. Moriguchi et al., "On-chip neural cell cultivation using agarose-microchamber array constructed by a photothermal etching method," Electrical Engineering in Japan, vol. 146, issue 2, pp. 37--42 (2004) 4) H. Moriguchi et al., "Photothermal microneedle etching: improved three-dimensional microfabrication method for agarose gel for topographical control of cultured cell communities," Japanese Journal of Applied Physics, vol. 45, no. 30, pp. L796--L799 (2006) 5) H. Moriguchi et al., "Site-selective electrical recording from small neuronal circuits using spray patterning method and mobile microelectrodes," 3rd International IEEE EMBS Conference on Neural Engineering, pp. 494--497 (2007, Hawaii, USA) 6) H. Moriguchi et al., �gHierarchic oscillatory patterns observed in the spontaneous and evoked activity of cultured small recurrent networks,�h 6th Forum of European Neuroscience (6th FENS), Poster No. 80.7 (2008, Geneva, Switzerland) 7) H. Moriguchi et al., �gExtracellular recording from mass-produced small neuronal networks using mobile metal microelectrodes,�h 6th International Meeting on Substrate-Integrated Microelectrode Arrays (MEA meeting 2008), pp. 267--270 (2008, Reutlingen, Germany) 8) H. Moriguchi et al., �gSite-selective stimulation and recording of the electrical activity of cultured neuronal networks using mobile microelectrodes,�h 21st International Symposium on Biological and Physiological Engineering, pp. 159--162 (2008, Harbin, China) Other Activities The Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan (IEEJ), Biophysical Society, Biophysical Society of Japan Future Plan Messages to Students Application for collaboration is always welcome.