Researcher profile

Shusuke Iwata

I have received my Ph.D. under the supervision of Dr. Yuzo Ninomiya (Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan), a distinguished scientist in the field of taste research using multiple techniques including electrophysiology and genetics. Since joining Dr. Ninomiya’s laboratory in 2012 as a graduate student, I have studied physiological aspects of taste reception using genetically-modified mice and accumulated experience and knowledge in animal surgeries and electrophysiological recordings from gustatory nerves. I have also studied the mechanisms of modification of taste sensitivity using behavioral test with pharmacological methods. As a postdoctral fellow in the Monell Chemical Senses Center, I extended the research on the mechanisms of taste transduction with taste Organoids. After returning to Japan, I worked as an assistant professor at Kyushu University from 2019~2023, and after April 2023, I am continuing my research as an assistant professor at Asahi University. My research focuses on elucidating sweet taste receptor pathways and the mechanisms of function of its modifying factors. In particular, I am focusing on elucidating the functions of the sugar transporters-mediating T1Rs-independent sweet taste pathway.