Katsuhiki Minami, an MCB postdoctoral researcher in Nancy Kleckner’s lab, has been awarded two competitive fellowships to support his research at the intersection of chromosome biology and biophysics.
Minami received funding from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), a major program supporting early-career scientists pursuing postdoctoral training abroad, as well as the Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP), an international fellowship that supports innovative, interdisciplinary life sciences research.
Both fellowships will support the same research program, which focuses on understanding the physical properties of chromosomes and how those properties relate to biological function.
His work explores how chromosomes behave as physical structures inside the cell, with an emphasis on how their properties influence key biological processes. “I’m going to study the biophysics of chromosomes… to investigate the physical properties of the chromosomes and its relation to some biological phenomena,” he explained.
Minami’s research background lies in measuring chromatin dynamics in living cells, and he is now extending that expertise into new areas. Having recently joined the Kleckner lab, he is beginning to apply biophysical approaches to questions in meiosis, the specialized form of cell division during sexual reproduction.
“During meiosis, two homologous chromosomes from dad and mom should be physically connected to one another by reciprocally exchanging chromosome arms between them… it’s called crossover,” he explained. One of the central mysteries he aims to address is how crossover events are evenly distributed along chromosomes. “In other words, how do chromosomes construct the crossover pattern without knowing its overall blueprint? We’re going to investigate why it happens… from the physical aspect,” he added.
Although he is relatively new to the field of meiosis – his PhD work focused on different aspects of chromatin biology – Minami sees the transition as an opportunity to bring new tools and perspectives to longstanding biological questions. “Now, I can contribute my expertise in microscopy or some super-resolution imaging to longstanding biological questions in meiosis research,” he said.
For Minami, receiving both fellowships is not only a recognition of his work, but also an opportunity to expand into new scientific territory. “It’s a very exciting opportunity to jump into a new research field,” he said.
As he begins his postdoctoral research at Harvard MCB, Minami’s work will continue to probe how the physical behavior of chromosomes shapes fundamental biological processes—an approach that brings together physics and biology to better understand how cells function.
