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Hirofumi Fujita, M.D.,  Ph.D.

Hirofumi Fujita, M.D., Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

School
Medical School
Department
Neurology
Graduate Programs
Neuroscience
  • Biography

    Joined UT Southwestern: 2022

    Research: Dr. Fujita's research is defining the circuit frameworks to understand the communication of the cerebellum with the forebrain, brainstem, and spinal cord. The long-term goal of his laboratory is to develop novel treatments for brain disorders by leveraging the cerebellum's ability to compensate for diseased brain functions by modulating the activity of specific cerebellar circuits.

    Background: Dr. Fujita received his M.D. and Ph.D. from Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan, and completed his postdoctoral training at the Salk Institute, La Jolla, CA, and Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD.

    Affiliations: Dr. Fujita is a member of the Neuroscience graduate program.

  • Research Interest
    • Ataxia
    • Cerebellar anatomy
    • Cerebellar development
  • Publications
    Catecholamine signaling that modulates cerebellar operations in cognition
    Fujita H, Carlson ES Neuropsychopharmacology 2021 Jan 46 248-249
    Regulation of autism-relevant behaviors by cerebellar–prefrontal cortical circuits
    Kelly E, Meng F, Fujita H, Morgado F, Kazemi Y, Rice LC, Ren C, Escamilla CO, Gibson JM, Sajadi S, Pendry RJ, Tan T, Ellegood J, Albert Basson M, Blakely RD, Dindot SV, Golzio C, Hahn MK, Katsanis N, Robins DM, Silverman JL, Singh KK, Wevrick R, Taylor MJ, Hammill C, Anagnostou E, Pfeiffer BE, Stoodley CJ, Lerch JP, du Lac S, Tsai PT Nature neuroscience 2020 Sep 23 1102-1110
    Purkinje Cell-Specific Knockout of Tyrosine Hydroxylase Impairs Cognitive Behaviors
    Locke TM, Fujita H, Hunker A, Johanson SS, Darvas M, du Lac S, Zweifel LS, Carlson ES Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience 2020 Jul 14
    Modular output circuits of the fastigial nucleus for diverse motor and nonmotor functions of the cerebellar vermis
    Fujita H, Kodama T, Du Lac S eLife 2020 Jul 9 1-91
    Common origin of the cerebellar dual somatotopic areas revealed by tracking embryonic purkinje cell clusters with birthdate tagging
    Tran-Anh K, Zhang J, Nguyen-Minh VT, Fujita H, Hirata T, Sugihara I eNeuro 2020 7 1-23
    Cerebellar modules in the olivo-cortico-nuclear loop demarcated by pcdh10 expression in the adult mouse
    Sarpong GA, Vibulyaseck S, Luo Y, Biswas MS, Fujita H, Hirano S, Sugihara I Journal of Comparative Neurology 2018 Oct 526 2406-2427
    Spatial rearrangement of Purkinje cell subsets forms the transverse and longitudinal compartmentalization in the mouse embryonic cerebellum
    Vibulyaseck S, Fujita H, Luo Y, Tran AK, Oh-Nishi A, Ono Y, Hirano S, Sugihara I Journal of Comparative Neurology 2017 Oct 525 2971-2990
    Lobular homology in cerebellar hemispheres of humans, non-human primates and rodents: a structural, axonal tracing and molecular expression analysis
    Luo Y, Fujita H, Nedelescu H, Biswas MS, Sato C, Ying S, Takahashi M, Akita K, Higashi T, Aoki I, Sugihara I Brain Structure and Function 2017 Aug 222 2449-2472
    Compartmentalization of the chick cerebellar cortex based on the link between the striped expression pattern of aldolase C and the topographic olivocerebellar projection
    Vibulyaseck S, Luo Y, Fujita H, Oh-Nishi A, Ohki-Hamazaki H, Sugihara I Journal of Comparative Neurology 2015 Sep 523 1886-1912
    Detailed expression pattern of Aldolase C (Aldoc) in the cerebellum, retina and other areas of the CNS studied in Aldoc-Venus knock-in mice
    Fujita H, Aoki H, Ajioka I, Yamazaki M, Abe M, Oh-Nishi A, Sakimura K, Sugihara I PloS one 2014 Jan 9
  • Books

    Featured 

    A computer-aided light microscopy system for three-dimensional reconstruction of axonal projections.. In Microscopy: Science, Technology, Applications and Education, Microscopy Book Series No. 4.

    Sugihara I, Fujita H. (2010). Badajoz, Formatex

  • Honors & Awards
    • Early Career Investigator Award
      National Ataxia Foundation (2023-2024)
    • Early Career Researcher Award
      Winter Symposium for The Next Generation Brain Project 2017 (2017)
    • Masao Ito Prize
      Society for Research on the Cerebellum and Ataxia (2017)
    • JSPS Postdoctoral Fellow for Research Abroad
      Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (2014-2016)
    • Program for seamless development of young scholarly doctors for global medical research
      Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (2012-2012)
    • The Research Award for Graduate Students
      Tokyo Medical and Dental University (2012)
    • Best poster award
      CBIR (the Center for Brain Integration Research) symposium for young investigator, Tokyo Medical and Dental University (2011)
    • JSPS Research Fellow
      Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (2011-2013)
  • Professional Associations/Affiliations
    • Society for Neuroscience (2010)
    • The Japan Society for Neuroscience (2009)