ASTRA 2025

Makoto Yamagishi

Invited Speaker, The University of Tokyo

Makoto Yamagishi, Ph.D.

Associate Professor
Laboratory of Viral Oncology and Genomics
Department of Computational Biology and Medical Sciences
Graduate School of Frontier Sciences
The University of Tokyo

Biography:
Makoto Yamagishi, PhD, is an Associate Professor at the Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo (2023–present), where he directs the Laboratory of Viral Oncology and Genomics and mentors 16 graduate students. He pioneered the first comprehensive, multi-omics portrait of adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL), delineating genomic, epigenomic, transcriptomic, and microRNA dysregulation and elucidating NF-κB activation mechanisms (Cancer Cell, 2012). His group mapped promoter-wide histone marks to reveal aberrant EZH1/2-mediated H3K27me3 accumulation (Blood, 2016), uncovered activation of signaling networks (e.g., Hedgehog), and identified defects in splicing and translation. He developed a high-depth sequencing panel (PNAS, 2020) and, with single-cell analyses, resolved clonal evolutionary trajectories in ATL (Nat Commun, 2021). In collaboration with Daiichi Sankyo, he co-developed the first-in-class dual EZH1/2 inhibitor valemetostat, advancing from preclinical proof-of-concept (Cell Rep, 2019) to regulatory approval in Japan (2022). Beyond ATL, his team defined the distinct transcriptomic pathology of HTLV-1--associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP) and advanced two therapeutics with successful patenting and out-licensing. His lab’s Nature paper (2024) delivered the first demonstration in patients of how the dual EZH1/2 inhibitor valemetostat - a histone methylation-targeted therapy - acts and how resistance emerges with prolonged dosing, providing foundational evidence for next-generation epigenomic treatments.