Kei M Igarashi

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Kei M Igarashi
Born
Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
Alma materUniversity of Tokyo, Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Known forOlfactory Memory
Scientific career
FieldsNeuroscience
InstitutionsUniversity of California, Irvine

Kei M Igarashi is a Japanese-American neuroscientist who is a Chancellor's Fellow Associate Professor in the Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology at University of California, Irvine. Igarashi investigates the brain mechanisms of olfactory memory, and develops the cure for Alzheimer's disease using the sense of smell.

Education and Career

Igarashi completed his bachelor's degree at The University of Tokyo in 2001, graduating with a degree in Molecular Biology. He completed his PhD degree in Neuroscience at The University of Tokyo School of Medicine. Igarashi worked with Dr. Kensaku Mori to understand the neural circuit mechanisms of the olfactory bulb and olfactory cortex. Igarashi found that two major pathways exist between the olfactory bulb and the olfactory cortex.[1].

Igarashi decided to continue his postdoctoral studies in the lab of Edvard I. Moser and May-Britt Moser at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim. There, Igarashi found that the brain region termed lateral entorhinal cortex controls olfactory memory[2].

Igarashi was recruited to University of California, Irvine in 2016 where he held the title of Assistant Professor of Anatomy and Neurobiology until 2022. Igarashi was promoted to tenured Associate Professor in 2022, and was named as Chancellor's Fellow in 2023[3].

UC Irvine Great Minds Think Together Campaign

In 2024, University of California, Irvine chose Igarashi for the face of its advertising campaign[4]. Igarashi and his lab were highlighted on UC Irvine shuttles, at John Wayne Airport, and in shopping centers in Orange County.

Research on Olfaction and Memory

The Igarashi Lab at University of California, Irvine focuses on the neurobiology of functionally defined cell types in the lateral entorhinal cortex and related brain regions, including the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex.

In 2021, Igarashi and his lab discovered that dopamine released in the lateral entorhinal cortex is critical for the formation of olfactory memory[5]

In 2024, Igarashi and his group discovered that the lateral entorhinal cortex does not work alone, but work together with the prefrontal cortex, to create olfactory memory[6]

Research on Alzheimer's disease

The ultimate goal of the Igarashi Lab is to turn their basic findings from healthy brains into the cure of brain diseases. In 2020, Igarashi and his colleagues discovered that the remapping function of place cells in the hippocampus, the ability of place cells to distinguish distinct environments, is impaired in Alzheimer's disease[7]. This finding provides a first mechanistic explanation of spatial memory impairments and wandering, symptoms often seen in Alzheimer's disease patients.

In 2024, Igarashi and the colleague found that dopamine in the lateral entorhinal cortex is significantly impaired in Alzheimer's disease, and when they reactivated dopamine, memory symptoms were rescued, suggesting the potential role of dopamine for the cure of Alzheimer's disease[8].

Awards and honors

  • 2025 Inoue Prize for Science[9]
  • 2023 Japan Academy Medal[10]
  • 2023 19th Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Award[11]
  • 2023, 2024 Silver Beaker Award for Excellence in Teaching, UC Irvine School of Medicine
  • 2022, 2023 Medical Education Excellence Award in Teaching, UC Irvine School of Medicine
  • 2022 Outstanding Early-Career Faculty Research Award, UC Irvine School of Medicine
  • 2022 Robert & Sylvia Mapel Research Endowment, UC Irvine School of Medicine
  • 2019 BrightFocus Foundation Alzheimer's Disease Award
  • 2019 New Vision Investigator Award, Charleston Conferences for Alzheimer’s Disease
  • 2018 Ando Momofuku Award, Ando Foundation
  • 2017 Mishima Kaiun Prize, Mishima Kaiun Memorial Foundation
  • 2017 Fay/Frank Seed Award, Brain Research Foundation
  • 2016 PRESTO Career Development Award, Japan Science and Technology Agency
  • 2014 Young Investigator Award, Japan Neuroscience Society

Select publications

  • Igarashi KM*, Ieki N, An M, Yamaguchi Y, Nagayama S, Kobayakawa K, Kobayakawa R, Tanifuji M, Sakano H, Chen WR, Mori K* (*Co-corresponding authors) "Parallel mitral and tufted cell pathways route distinct odor information to different targets in the olfactory cortex." Journal of Neuroscience 32:7970-85 (2012)[1]
  • Igarashi KM*, Lu L, Colgin LL, Moser MB, Moser EI* (*Co-corresponding authors) "Coordination of entorhinal-hippocampal ensemble activity during associative learning." Nature 510: 143-7 (2014)[2]
  • Heechul Jun, Shogo Soma, Takashi Saito, Takaomi C Saido, Kei M Igarashi* "Disrupted Place Cell Remapping and Impaired Grid Cells in a Knockin Model of Alzheimer's Disease." Neuron 107:1095-1112 (2020)[7]
  • Jason Y. Lee†, Heechul Jun†, Shogo Soma†, Tomoaki Nakazono†, Kaori Shiraiwa, Ananya Dasgupta, Tatsuki Nakagawa, Jiayun L. Xie, Jasmine Chavez, Rodrigo Romo, Sandra Yungblut, Meiko Hagihara, Koshi Murata & Kei M. Igarashi* "Dopamine facilitates associative memory encoding in the entorhinal cortex." Nature 598:321-326 (2021)[5]
  • Kei M Igarashi "Entorhinal cortex dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease" Trends in Neuroscience (2022)[12]
  • Heechul Jun†, Jason Y. Lee†, Nicholas R Bleza, Ayana Ichii, Jordan D Donohue & Kei M. Igarashi* "Prefrontal and lateral entorhinal neurons co-dependently learn item-outcome rules." Nature 633:864-871(2024)[6]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Igarashi, Kei M.; Ieki, Nao; An, Myungho; Yamaguchi, Yukie; Nagayama, Shin; Kobayakawa, Ko; Kobayakawa, Reiko; Tanifuji, Manabu; Sakano, Hitoshi (2012-06-06). "Parallel Mitral and Tufted Cell Pathways Route Distinct Odor Information to Different Targets in the Olfactory Cortex". Journal of Neuroscience. 32 (23): 7970–7985. doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0154-12.2012. ISSN 0270-6474. PMC 3636718. PMID 22674272.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Igarashi, Kei M.; Lu, Li; Colgin, Laura L.; Moser, May-Britt; Moser, Edvard I. (2014-06-06). "Coordination of entorhinal–hippocampal ensemble activity during associative learning". Nature. 510 (7503): 143–147. Bibcode:2014Natur.510..143I. doi:10.1038/nature13162. hdl:11250/2471606. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 24739966.
  3. ↑ "Chancellor's Fellows | UC Irvine". Retrieved 2025-01-18.
  4. ↑ "Can Smell Lead to a Cure for Alzheimer's? | UC Irvine". Retrieved 2025-01-18.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lee, Jason Y.; Jun, Heechul; Soma, Shogo; Nakazono, Tomoaki; Shiraiwa, Kaori; Dasgupta, Ananya; Nakagawa, Tatsuki; Xie, Jiayun L.; Chavez, Jasmine (2021-10-06). "Dopamine facilitates associative memory encoding in the entorhinal cortex". Nature. 598 (7880): 321–326. Bibcode:2021Natur.598..321L. doi:10.1038/s41586-021-03948-8. ISSN 1476-4687. PMC 8744500. PMID 34552245.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Jun, Heechul; Lee, Jason Y.; Bleza, Nicholas R.; Ichii, Ayana; Donohue, Jordan D.; Igarashi, Kei M. (2024-09-23). "Prefrontal and lateral entorhinal neurons co-dependently learn item-outcome rules". Nature. 633 (8031): 864–871. Bibcode:2024Natur.633..864J. doi:10.1038/s41586-024-07868-1. ISSN 1476-4687.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Jun, Heechul; Bramian, Allen; Soma, Shogo; Saito, Takashi; Saido, Takaomi C.; Igarashi, Kei M. (2020-09-23). "Disrupted Place Cell Remapping and Impaired Grid Cells in a Knockin Model of Alzheimer's Disease". Neuron. 107 (6): 1095–1112.e6. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2020.06.023. ISSN 0896-6273. PMC 7529950. PMID 32697942.
  8. ↑ Nakagawa, Tatsuki; Xie, Jiayun L.; Savadkohighodjanaki, Marjan; Zhang, Yutian J.; Jun, Heechul; Lee, Jason Y.; Soma, Shogo; Medhat, Yasmeen K.; Saido, Takaomi C.; Igarashi, Kei M. (2024-10-10). "Early disruption of entorhinal dopamine in a knock-in model of Alzheimer's disease". bioRxiv. doi:10.1101/2024.10.10.617678.
  9. ↑ "2025 Inoue Prize Announced | The Inoue Foundation". www.inoue-zaidan.or.jp. Retrieved 2025-01-18.
  10. ↑ "UC Irvine School of Medicine associate professor awarded 19th Japan Academy Medal". Retrieved 2025-01-18.
  11. ↑ "Past JSPS Prize recipients". Retrieved 2025-01-18.
  12. ↑ Igarashi, Kei M. (2023). "Entorhinal cortex dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease". Trends in Neurosciences. 46 (2): 124–136. doi:10.1016/j.tins.2022.11.006. PMC 9877178. PMID 36513524.

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