Faculty Profile

Soichiro Yamada
Assistant Professor
Biomedical Engineering
GBSF 2317
Office (530) 754-7251
Lab (530) 752-7828
syamada@ucdavis.edu
http://yamadalab.ucdavis.edu
[Picture of Soichiro Yamada]
Cell-cell adhesion, cytoskeletal dynamics, 3D culture, live-cell imaging

Degrees:
2001 - PhD - The Johns Hopkins University - Chemical Engineering
1996 - BS - Rutgers University - Chemical Engineering

Grad Group Affiliations and Specialties:
Cell and Developmental Biology
Non-DBS Grad Group(s) - Biomedical Engineering

Publications:
Yamada, S. and Nelson, W. J. Biochemistry of cell synapses of all types (2007) Annu Rev Biochem in press

Yamada, S. and Nelson, W. J. Localized RhoA activation regulates actomyosin contraction and compaction of epithelial cell-cell adhesion (2006) submitted

Reilein, A. Yamada, S. and Nelson, W. J. (2005) Self-organization of an acentrosomal microtubule network at the basal cortex of polarized epithelial cells J Cell Biol. 171:845

Drees, F. Pokutta, S. Yamada, S. Nelson, W. J. and Weis, W. I. (2005) Alpha-catenin is a molecular switch that binds E-cadherin/beta-catenin and regulates actin filament assembly. Cell 123:903

Yamada, S. Pokutta, S. Drees, F. Weis, W. I. and Nelson, W. J. (2005) Deconstructing the cadherin-catenin-actin complex. Cell 123:889

Nelson, W. J. Drees, F. and Yamada, S. (2005) Interaction of cadherin with the actin cytoskeleton. Novartis Found Symp. 269:159

Yamada, S. and Kuo, S. C. (2003) The inside story of Brownian motion: Revealing intracellular mechanics. Biophysics 43:180

Yamada, S. Wirtz, D. and Coulombe, P. A. (2003) The mechanical properties of simple epithelial keratins 8 and 18: discriminating between interfacial and bulk elasticities. J Struct Biol. 143:45-55.

Yamada, S. Wirtz, D. and Coulombe, P. A. (2002) Pairwise assembly determines the intrinsic potential for self-organization and mechanical properties of keratin filaments. Mol Biol Cell. 13:382-91.

Coulombe, P. A. Ma, L. Yamada, S. and Wawersik, M. (2001) Intermediate filaments at a glance. J Cell Sci. 114:4345-7

Bousquet, O. Ma, L. Yamada, S. Gu, C. Idei, T. Takahashi, K. Wirtz, D. and Coulombe, P. A. (2001) The nonhelical tail domain of keratin 14 promotes filament bundling and enhances the mechanical properties of keratin intermediate filaments in vitro. J Cell Biol. 155:747-54.

Ma, L. Yamada, S. Wirtz, D. and Coulombe, P. A. (2001) A 'hot-spot' mutation alters the mechanical properties of keratin filament networks. Nat Cell Biol. 3:503-6.

Coulombe, P. A. Bousquet, O. Ma, L. Yamada, S. and Wirtz, D. (2000) The 'ins' and 'outs' of intermediate filament organization. Trends Cell Biol. 10:420-8.

Yamada, S. Wirtz, D. and Kuo, S. C. (2000) Mechanics of living cells measured by laser tracking microrheology. Biophys J. 78:1736-47.

Research Interests:
Our laboratory is interested in how cells interact with each other during tissue morphogenesis and remodeling. Cell-cell interactions are mediated by cell-cell adhesion and cytoskeletal proteins that coordinate cell movement during gastrulation or epithelial tube formation. Aberrant loss of cell-cell adhesion leads to unrestricted cell movement that allows invasion into other tissues, a key step in progression of metastatic cancer. While cells in isolation have been extensively studied, their multi-cellular behavior still remains ambiguous. This is primarily due to the complexity of molecular interactions, signaling and cytoskeletal reorganization that results from cell-cell adhesion. Our focus is to understand molecular mechanisms of cell-cell adhesion and cytoskeletal organization that dictate the coordinate behavior of cells in tissues and organs.

Courses Taught:
BIM 202 Cell and Molecular Biology for Engineers - Term(s): Winter