Related Outline

I am interested in understanding why the mosquito midgut exhibits such extreme extensibility and how mechanical stimuli from blood feeding drive the reconstruction (or reorganization) of cellular and tissue structures. By positioning the mosquito midgut as a new model for studying mechanosensory responses, I aim to elucidate how tissue architecture is dynamically regulated and maintained.

Career

Emi received her Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from Osaka University in 2011 under the mentorship of Dr. Hirotaka Kanuka and then conducted postdoctoral research at RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology and University of California Riverside. After joining Nagoya University as Assistant Professor, she joined The Jikei University School of Medicine as Associate Professor in July 2022.

Representative Achievements

• Sensory regulation of meal sorting in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.
  Maekawa E, Dahanukar A.
  Scientific Reports, 2024;14:1 1-14.
  DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-83172-2
• Automated long-term monitoring of the heat-seeking behavior of mosquitoes.
  Sakuma C, Maekawa E, Kanuka H.
  Cold Spring Harbor Protocols, 2023; 11:1-5.
  DOI: https://doi.org/10.1101/pdb.prot108173
• A Key features and considerations for using automated long-term monitoring of heat-seeking behavior of mosquitoes.
  Sakuma C, Maekawa E, Kanuka H.
  Cold Spring Harbor Protocols, 2023; 11:1-3.
  https://doi.org/10.1101/pdb.top107665
• Left-right asymmetric cell intercalation drives directional collective cell movement in epithelial morphogenesis.
  Sato K*, Hiraiwa T*, Maekawa E*, Isomura A, Shibata T, and Kuranaga E* (* Equally contributed).
  Nature Communications, 2015;6:1-11.
  DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms10074
• The role of proboscis of the malaria vector mosquito Anopheles stephensi in host-seeking behavior.
  Maekawa E, Aonuma H, Nelson B, Yoshimura A, Tokunaga F, Fukumoto S and Kanuka H.
  Parasites & Vectors, 2011;4:10 1-12.
  DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/1756-3305-4-10