Yuki Oka, PhD

Professor at California Institute of Technology

2019 NYSCF – Robertson Neuroscience Investigator

PhD, University of Tokyo, Japan

Postdoctoral Training, University of California, San Diego; Columbia University

Bio

Dr. Oka is a Professor at California Institute of Technology, where he is researching how individual neural populations interact by focusing on thirst and drinking behavior. He aims to understand how internal need signals (thirst) are translated into behavioral outputs (drinking) by interrogating the molecular and functional organization of neural circuits underlying body fluid balance. He is also aiming to develop a novel method to allow efficient genetic access to a given cell type, which would significantly accelerate neural circuit analysis and not be limited to any particular model organism. He completed his postdoctoral studies at University of California, San Diego and Columbia University.