Researcher Information

TASAKI Sohei

Associate Professor

Multi-level mathematical sciences

Department of Mathematics, Mathematics

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Theme

Development of multi-level mathematical analysis methodology and applications to self-organization of cell communities

FieldMathematical life sciences, Microbiology, Mathematical physics, Applied mathematics
KeywordMathematical modeling, Data assimilation, Morphogenesis, Self-organization, Collective motion, Bacillus subtilis, Colony patterns, Biofilms

Introduction of Research

To better understand the dynamics of self-organizing complex structures and the sophisticated functions of living organisms, I believe the most promising way forward lies in combining various approaches that not only cross the boundaries between scientific fields (biology, chemistry, physics, informatics, mathematics), but which bridge hierarchies within the research subject itself. Cell state regulation at the gene level, collective cell migration dependent on intercellular interactions, microscopic structures and macroscopic morphologies of cell populations and tissues, interactions with the surrounding environment — these are just a few of the critical hierarchies that I address, approaching them from a perspective of multi-scale analysis. Rather than trying to fit a project into already existing frameworks, I construct mathematical models of these hierarchies from the ground up to suit each project’s experimental data. To aid in creating these models, I use new mathematical methods to extract additional features from high-dimensional biological data. Informing these models with additional and rare high-dimensional data allows these projects to reach beyond their original scope and provide theoretical advancements to their respective fields. My goal is to create paradigm shifts in the life sciences with this novel platform of mathematical and informatics analysis.

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Analyzing the diversity and robustness of Bacillus subtilis cell communities with multi-level mathematical modeling

Representative Achievements

Tasaki S, Nakayama M, Shoji W. Morphologies of Bacillus subtilis communities responding to environmental variation. Develop. Growth Differ. 59: 369-378, (2017).
Tasaki S, Nakayama M, Shoji W. Self-organization of bacterial communities against environmental pH variation: Controlled chemotactic motility arranges cell population structures in biofilms. PLoS ONE 12: e0173195, (2017).
Tasaki S. Phase-separating elastic system of mixed lipid bilayers. Physica D 246: 23-38, (2013).
Suzuki T, Tasaki S. Stationary solutions to a thermoelastic system on shape memory materials. Nonlinearity 23: 2623-2656, (2010).
Suzuki T, Tasaki S. Stationary Fix-Caginalp equation with non-local term. Nonlinear Analysis 71: 1329-1349, (2009).
Academic degreePh.D.
Academic background2006 B. S., Faculty of Engineering Science, Osaka University
2008 M. S., Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University
2010 Ph.D., Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University
2010-2012 Research Fellow, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
2012-2013 Research Assistant, Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University
2013-2018 Assistant Professor, Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences (FRIS), Tohoku University
2013-2018 Assistant Professor (concurrent post), Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University
2018-2019 Research Scientist, RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research (BDR)
2018-2019 Education Coordinator, Sendai National College of Technology
2019-2021 Program-specific Assistant Professor, Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Biology (WPI-ASHBi), Kyoto University Institute for Advanced Study (KUIAS), Kyoto University
2021- Associate Professor, Faculty of Science, Hokkaido University
Affiliated academic societyThe Mathematical Society of Japan, The Japanese Society for Mathematical Biology, Japanese Society of Developmental Biologists, The Japan Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, The Molecular Biology Society of Japan, The Biophysical Society of Japan
Room addressScience Building 3 3-607

Department of Mathematics, Mathematics

TASAKI Sohei

Associate Professor

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What made you decide to become a researcher?

I get bored easily, so I’ve always wanted to do something new. I thought that if I became a researcher, I would discover a new world that only I could see after accumulating new discoveries.

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What do you usually do when you get stuck in your research?

I do other research and daily tasks. It seems that such problems are stuck in my head, but when I think about them while doing different things, different circuits in the brain work and I often come up with good ideas.

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What is the research theme that you are currently focusing on?

I am studying the system of life, thinking about understanding its origins and operating principles and controlling it efficiently. The system of life is made up of many small systems stacked on top of each other. I am conducting research to establish a methodology that elucidates the entire system by making full use of mathematics.

Holiday seminar