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.