Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Science Course Laboratory of Biochemistry NAME Takayuki SASSA

■	Research Title
	Role of sphingolipids in physiology and diseases

■	Key Words
	sphingolipids, very-long-chain fatty acids, genetically modified mice

■	E-Mail

■	Web Site
	http://www.pharm.hokudai.ac.jp/seika/index.html

■	Research Contents
	Our research is aimed at understanding the role of sphingolipids in vivo and how deregulation of sphingolipid metabolism causes lysosomal, peroxisomal and other diseases. We study sphingolipids at multiple levels such as biochemistry, molecular biology, cell biology and in vivo using genetically modified mice. We are also interested in identifying novel molecules that are potentially involved in sphingolipid synthesis, metabolism and signaling as well as the role of sphingolipids in membrane dynamics and homeostasis.

■	Messages