Kenji Osabe International Plant Molecular Biology Conference 2024

Kenji Osabe

Kenji Osabe joined Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST, Japan) as a Senior Staff Scientist in 2023. He is investigating the role of epigenetic gene regulation during the genome-merging process of plants (polyploidization and cell fusion). His research material ranges from model plant species to crops, where he started his research on a project to genetically engineer sugarcane (The University of Queensland). He moved on as a post-doctoral researcher at the Commonwealth of Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) focusing on understanding the involvement of epigenetic gene regulation in cotton fibre quality. After his time in Australia, he moved on as an Assistant professor at Osaka University (Japan) to introduce the genes of a glowing mushroom to create a glowing plant for bioimaging. His research has focused especially on genetic engineering and epigenetics and focuses on bridging basic to applied biology in diverse plant species, including Arabidopsis, tobacco, cotton, petunia, rice, and sugarcane.