In mammalian females, one of the two X-chromosomes is silenced to correct the imbalance of X-linked gene dosage between males (Xy) and females (XX). This chromosome-wide gene silencing is induced by a long noncoding RNA, Xist RNA.

Our laboratory is interested in the mechanisms of: (1) how the chromosome-wide silencing is induced by Xist RNA and (2) how the long-range silencing is maintained and organized. Our long-term goal is to understand how noncoding RNAs impact gene regulation and development in animals.
 

PhD: Biology, Osaka University, Japan, 1998.

MS: Molecular Biology, Nagoya University, Japan, 1994.

BS: Molecular Biology, Nagoya University, Japan, 1992.

Zhang LF, Ogawa Y, Ahn JY, Namekawa SH, Silva SS, Lee JT. Telomeric RNAs mark sex chromosomes in stem cells. Genetics. 2009 182,685-98.

Ogawa Y, Sun BK, Lee JT. Intersection of the RNA interference and X-inactivation pathways. Science. 2008 320,1336-41.