The California Tech Volume CXiX number 8 Pasadena, California
[email protected] noVember 16, 2015 Assistant Professor Yuki Oka awarded Mallinckrodt Grant NEHALY SHAH govern innate behaviors such as Editor-in-Chief eating and drinking. Currently, an estimated 30 million people This article was originally in the U.S. suffer from appetite published online at caltech.edu. disorders including polydipsia Yuki Oka, an assistant professor and bulimia, characterized by of biology, has been awarded a grant excessive water and food intake, from the Edward Mallinckrodt, respectively. Identifying neural Jr. Foundation, given to “support circuits underlying appetite may early stage investigators engaged offer insights into safe treatments in biomedical research that has the for associated disorders. potential to significantly advance Oka received his Ph.D. from the understanding, diagnosis, or the University of Tokyo and was treatment of disease,” according to a postdoctoral researcher at the foundation website. The grant University of California, San Diego will provide $60,000 per year for and Columbia University before three years. joining the Caltech faculty in 2014. “I’m thrilled by being selected He was named a Searle Scholar in for the 2015 Mallinckrodt Grant,” April 2015. said Oka, whose lab uses thirst Past Mallinckrodt grantees from and water-drinking behavior as a Caltech include Sarkis Mazmanian, simple model system to study how Luis B. and Nelly Soux Professor the brain monitors internal water of Microbiology; David Prober, balance and generates signals Yuki Oka will receive $60,000 per year for three years from the Edward Mallinckrodt, Jr. Foundation. assistant professor of biology; that drive appetitive behaviors.