Kazuhito Morioka, MD, PhD

Current Professional Interests and Activities

Metaplasticity and Bioinformatics
Laboratory for CNS Repair

Dr. Morioka is a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Neurological Surgery at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and the Brain and Spinal Injury Center (BASIC) at San Francisco General Hospital (SFGH). His current research is focused on the mechanisms of functional recovery after central nervous system (CNS) trauma in the Dr. Adam Ferguson’s laboratory. This project aims to identify cellular mechanisms and biological consequences of spinal cord injury and disease. Dr. Morioka’s work uses a combination of biochemical and confocal microscopic techniques, behavioral neuroscience, and statistical analysis to investigate neuronal plasticity in clinically relevant animal models of CNS trauma and disease. The long-term goal is to provide comprehensive evidence that leads to develop novel therapeutic approaches for allowing to re-acquire essential functions following brain and spinal injury.

Education, Training and Positions

2000  M.D., Jikei University, School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
2000-2001  Resident, Dept. of Anesthesiology, University of Tokyo Hospital, Tokyo
2001-2002  Resident, Dept. of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Tokyo Hospital and the Affiliated Hospital, Tokyo/Ibaraki, Japan
2002-2004  Fellow, Dept. of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Tokyo Affiliated Hospitals, Tokyo, Japan
2004-2005  Fellow, Dept. of Emergency medicine, University of Tokyo Hospital, Tokyo, Japan
2009  Ph.D., Graduate school of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Tokyo
2009-2012  Fellow, National Rehabilitation Center for Persons with Disabilities, Saitama, Japan
2012-Present  Visiting Researcher, National Rehabilitation Center for Persons with Disabilities, Saitama, Japan
2012-2013  Visiting Researcher, University of California, San Francisco, CA
2013-Present  Postdoctoral Scholar, University of California, San Francisco, CA

Professional Societies

2000-Present  The Japanese Orthopaedic Association
2005-Present  The Japanese Association of Rehabilitation Medicine
2005-2011  The Japanese Cancer Association
2008-Present  Japan College of Rheumatology
2008-Present  The American Society for Bone and Mineral Research
2008-Present  The Japanese Society for Bone and Mineral Research
2008-Present  The Japanese Society for Spine Surgery and Related Research
2009-Present  The Japan Neuroscience Society
2009-Present  Society for Neuroscience
2011-Present  National Neurotrauma Society

Selected Certification

2008  Board Certified Occupational Health Doctor, Japan Medical Association
2009  Board Certified Health and Sports Doctor, Japan Medical Association
2011  Board Certified Orthopaedic Surgeon, Japanese Orthopaedic Association
2011  Board Certified Sports Doctor, Japan Sports Association

Honors and Awards

2009  Young Investigator Award: The Japanese Society for Bone and Mineral Research
2009  Plenary Poster Award: The American Society for Bone and Mineral Research
2011  SfN Special Travel Award: Society for Neuroscience