Bio
Yo Sasaki was born and raised in Japan. He attended Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (B.S.) and Gunma University School of Medicine (Ph.D.) and decided to come to U.S. Yo is interested in the mechanism of axon degeneration. Axon degeneration is a common and early step of many neurological disorders and could be a useful therapeutic target for neurodegenerative diseases. Using injury-induced axon degeneration as a model, Yo and his colleagues discovered that overexpression of the NAD+ biosynthetic enzyme NMNAT1 can block axon degeneration. They identified other enzymes and substrates in NAD+ biosynthetic pathways that significantly delay axon degeneration. Based on these findings, Yo’s research is focused on the identification of axon survival signaling pathways that are linked to NAD+ metabolism.