Takanori Furukawa is a fungal molecular biologist in the Manchester Fungal Infection Group (MFIG, http://www.inflammation-repair.manchester.ac.uk/mfig). Over the past decade, he has worked in the field of fungal infection biology and fungal biotechnology with a special emphasis on understanding the molecular mechanisms of gene regulation in eukaryotic microorganisms. His current research focuses on understanding the molecular basis of pathogenicity and antifungal resistance in the major fungal pathogen of human lungs, Aspergillus fumigatus. He is also interested in the understanding of various life processes using filamentous fungus as a model system.

Takanori completed his PhD in Bioengineering in 2009 at Nagaoka University of Technology in Japan, where he studied the regulation of glycoside hydrolase gene expression in the model cellulolytic fungus Trichoderma reesei. After a postdoctoral position at Nagaoka, he made the move from Japan to the UK in 2013 to join the Centre for Synthetic and Systems Biology (SynthSys) at the University of Edinburgh as a research associate. During this time, he obtained new skills and knowledge in the emerging field of synthetic and systems biology. Since 2015, Takanori has been working as a member of MFIG to pursue further career growth in the field of fungal infection biology. His main achievement at the MFIG has been the characterization of a whole-transcription factor knockout mutant collection of A. fumigatus, which led to the identification of the full-cohort of transcription factors that govern resistance to clinically important antifungals.

Takanori has recently been awarded a University of Manchester EDI “Perera” Fellowship funded by the Wellcome Trust Institutional Strategic Support Fund.

Member of British Society for Medical Mycology (BSMM), since 2019.

2013-B.B.B. Paper Award, Bioscience, Biotechnology, & Biochemistry

2019-Poster Prize, 55th BSMM Annual Scientific Meeting, British Society for Medical Mycology (BSMM)