Rate My Professor Ryuji Fukuzawa

Ryuji Fukuzawa, MD, PhD, DMedSci, is an Honorary Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine at the Dunedin School of Medicine, within the Faculty of Medicine, Health Sciences Division, University of Otago. He earned his MB from Shimane Medical University and DMedSci from Keio University. His career at the University of Otago includes research in the Cancer Genetics Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry, focusing on molecular pathology and genetics of paediatric cancers, particularly Wilms tumour, a form of childhood kidney cancer.

Fukuzawa's research interests center on the genetic and epigenetic mechanisms underlying tumour development, including imprinting, DNA methylation, and mutations in key genes. Notable publications include 'Germline mutations and somatic inactivation of TRIM28 in Wilms tumour' (Halliday et al., 2018), identifying TRIM28's role in pathogenesis; 'The developmental programme for genesis of the entire kidney is recapitulated in Wilms tumour' (Fukuzawa et al., 2017); 'WTX mutations can occur both early and late in the pathogenesis of Wilms tumour' (Fukuzawa et al., 2010); 'Destabilized adhesion in the gastric proliferative zone and c-Src kinase activation mark the development of early diffuse gastric cancer' (Humar et al., 2007); 'Wilms tumour histology is determined by distinct types of precursor lesions' (Fukuzawa et al., 2008); 'Germline mutations in WTX cause a sclerosing skeletal dysplasia' (Jenkins et al., 2009); 'PAX3 Is Expressed in the Stromal Compartment of the Developing Kidney' (Hueber et al., 2009); and 'Identification and validation of DNA methylation changes in endometrial cancer' (Almomani et al., 2021). These contributions have advanced knowledge of Wilms tumour origins and progression, supporting University of Otago breakthroughs in childhood kidney cancer research.