Animal Genome Institute

Yuka has more than 20 years of experience in genomics and bioinformatics across both academic and private research institutions. Raised on a farm in rural Japan, Yuka has long been passionate about improving animal lives and agricultural productivity through her expertise in genomics and bioinformatics. In 2019, she founded the Animal Genome Institute (AGI) to further this mission. Yuka is dedicated to supporting and educating next generation of animal/science lovers, contributing to the well-being of both animals and their human companions. She enjoys volunteering at AGI as well as at local shelters, farms, and cat cafes.

Milena is a leading investigator of immunology, now appointed as an Associate Professor at University of Massachusetts Medical School, with a great interest in understanding how coordinated efforts of enteric immune and nervous systems maintain intestinal homeostasis and infection control, and how the dysbiosis in each system may lead to the development of inflammatory gut conditions such as Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD) and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). She has been a collaborator and a friend of Yuka since she worked as an Assistant Professor at Penn State University College of Medicine and their collaborative paper was recently published in Science Immunology (PMID: 32276965).

Tomoko is an Assistant Professor at School of Veterinary Science Department of Veterinary Science at Osaka Metroplitan University, Japan. Her interest is in radiation therapy for the cancer of cats and dogs. She is also a member of the Veterinary Cancer Society. Not only Tomoko is specialized in cancer therapy in cats and dogs, she sees a broad spectrum of complications in veterinary medicine, including IBD.

Kazuki is a researcher of comparative oncology and translational research, appointed as an Assistant Professor at Gifu University, Japan. His research interest is focused on developing novel therapeutic agents and low-invasive biomarkers using miRNAs for human/canine osteosarcoma (PMID: 30683101) and hemangiosarcoma (PMID: 28536479, PMID: 26335793). Kazuki is a collaborator of Yuka, and fully supports her activities.