Rate My Professor Taku Ozaki

Taku Ozaki is an Associate Professor at Iwate University. He earned a bachelor's degree from Hirosaki University in 2004, a master's degree from Hirosaki University in 2006, and a doctoral degree in Biology from Iwate University in 2009. His academic career at Iwate University includes service as a researcher from 2009 to 2012, assistant professor from 2012 to 2016, and associate professor since 2016. He has held positions in the Faculty of Engineering, the Faculty of Science and Engineering in the Department of Chemistry and Biological Science, and currently in the Faculty of Agriculture in the Department of Life Science, Course of Molecular Biomedical Sciences.

Ozaki's research focuses on biological chemistry, cell biology, and animal physiology, with particular emphasis on mitochondrial defense mechanisms against glycation stress, cell death mechanisms, and the development of novel drugs for age-related degenerative diseases affecting the eye and brain. He teaches courses in the life sciences grounded in cellular biochemistry and animal physiology. His work includes publications on topics such as balenine in Parkinson's disease models and mitochondrial calpain-5 in cerebral ischemia, as well as contributions to patents related to nerve cell protection in the retina.