Yuuki Obata, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Endowed Title: Nancy Cain and Jeffrey A. Marcus Scholar in Medical Research, in Honor of Dr. Bill S. Vowell
Schools: Medical School | Graduate School
Departments: Immunology | Neuroscience
Graduate Programs: Immunology, Neuroscience

Biography

2021-Present: Assistant Professor, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX

2018-2021: Postdoctoral Fellow (HFSP Postdoctoral Fellow), The Francis Crick Institute, London, UK

2016-2017: Postdoctoral Fellow (EMBO Long-Term Postdoctoral Fellow), The Francis Crick Institute, London, UK

2015-2016: Postdoctoral Fellow (JSPS Superlative Postdoctoral Fellow, SPD), The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, Japan

2010-2015: Graduate student, RIKEN (Joint Graduate School of Chiba University), Japan

Research Interest

Gut Circadian Clock
Interoception
Neuroimmunology

Publications

Featured Publications

Not all gut cellular circadian oscillators are food entrainable.: Magaña I, Taufique SKT, Shan Y, Shen M, Ehichioya DE, Takahashi JS, Yamazaki S, Obata Y, Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2026 Jun 123 22 e2601012123
Nutrients activate distinct patterns of small-intestinal enteric neurons.: Fung C, Venneman T, Holland AM, Martens T, Alata MI, Hao MM, Alar C, Obata Y, Tack J, Sifrim A, Pachnis V, Boesmans W, Vanden Berghe P, Nature 2025 Jul
Interaction between the gut microbiota and colonic enteroendocrine cells regulates host metabolism.: Tan S, Santolaya JL, Wright TF, Liu Q, Fujikawa T, Chi S, Bergstrom CP, Lopez A, Chen Q, Vale G, McDonald JG, Schmidt A, Vo N, Kim J, Baniasadi H, Li L, Zhu G, He TC, Zhan X, Obata Y, Jin A, Jia D, Elmquist JK, Sifuentes-Dominguez L, Burstein E, Nat Metab 2024 May
Macrophages regulate gastrointestinal motility through complement component 1q.: Pendse M, De Selle H, Vo N, Quinn G, Dende C, Li Y, Salinas CN, Srinivasan T, Propheter DC, Crofts AA, Koo E, Hassell B, Ruhn KA, Raj P, Obata Y, Hooper LV, Elife 2023 Apr 12
Molecular profiling of enteric nervous system cell lineages.: Obata Y, Castaño Á, Fallesen TL, Bon-Frauches AC, Boeing S, Huseynova A, McCallum S, Lasrado R, Heanue TA, Pachnis V, Nat Protoc 2022 Jun
Neuronal programming by microbiota regulates intestinal physiology.: Obata Y, Castaño Á, Boeing S, Bon-Frauches AC, Fung C, Fallesen T, de Agüero MG, Yilmaz B, Lopes R, Huseynova A, Horswell S, Maradana MR, Boesmans W, Vanden Berghe P, Murray AJ, Stockinger B, Macpherson AJ, Pachnis V, Nature 2020 02 578 7794 284-289
The Effect of Microbiota and the Immune System on the Development and Organization of the Enteric Nervous System.: Obata Y, Pachnis V, Gastroenterology 2016 11 151 5 836-844
The epigenetic regulator Uhrf1 facilitates the proliferation and maturation of colonic regulatory T cells.: Obata Y, Furusawa Y, Endo TA, Sharif J, Takahashi D, Atarashi K, Nakayama M, Onawa S, Fujimura Y, Takahashi M, Ikawa T, Otsubo T, Kawamura YI, Dohi T, Tajima S, Masumoto H, Ohara O, Honda K, Hori S, Ohno H, Koseki H, Hase K, Nat Immunol 2014 Jun 15 6 571-9
Commensal microbe-derived butyrate induces the differentiation of colonic regulatory T cells.: Furusawa Y, Obata Y, Fukuda S, Endo TA, Nakato G, Takahashi D, Nakanishi Y, Uetake C, Kato K, Kato T, Takahashi M, Fukuda NN, Murakami S, Miyauchi E, Hino S, Atarashi K, Onawa S, Fujimura Y, Lockett T, Clarke JM, Topping DL, Tomita M, Hori S, Ohara O, Morita T, Koseki H, Kikuchi J, Honda K, Hase K, Ohno H, Nature 2013 Dec 504 7480 446-50
Elucidation of daily timed-palatable meal-anticipatory activity in the circadian system of mice.: Taufique SKT, Eischeid A, Magaña I, Ehichioya DE, Farah S, Obata Y, Yamazaki S, Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol 2026 Jan

Honors & Awards

Ando Momofuku Award
(2026)
JST PRESTO Award
(2025)
The Young Scientists' Award by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), Japan
(2024)
Pew Biomedical Scholars
(2023)
Welch Research Grants
(2023)
UT Southwestern Endowed Scholar
(2021)
HFSP Long-Term Fellowship
(2017-2020)
EMBO Long-Term Fellowship
(2016-2017)
Inoue Research Award for Young Scientists
Inoue Foundation for Science (2016)
Ikushi Prize
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) (2015)
Superlative Postdoctoral Fellow (SPD)
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) (2015-2016)