Kenta received BS from the University of Tokyo, and PhD from The Rockefeller University. His PhD thesis in Professor Leslie Vosshall’s lab elucidated a neuronal mechanism of intensity-invariant chemotaxis behavior. He received his postdoctoral training in Professor David Anderson’s lab at California Institute of Technology, where he uncovered neuronal and genetic elements controlling antagonistic behavior. From 2011 to 2013, he was a Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Research Overseas fellow. Since October 2014, Kenta is an Assistant Professor at The Salk Institute. He loves nature, arts and good coffee. In his scarce free time, he likes to hike trails in San Diego County, snorkel, visit art galleries and try out new cafes.

I am an eclectic scientist and an academic wanderer. My journey began at the University of Bologna where I earned my BS and MS in Pharmaceutical Biotechnology and studied oncolytic herpes viruses. In 2013, I flew to Cambridge (UK) where I met my favourite model organism –Drosophila melanogaster- that helped me explore the mechanisms of asymmetric cell division in larval neuroblast. Fruit flies accompanied me throughout my scientific journey. During my PhD in Molecular Oncology at IFOM (Milan, Italy), I used flies to characterize a novel E3 ubiquitin ligase -Hecw- potentially involved in RNPs regulation and neurodegenerative disease. I continued studying  Hecw during my postdoc at  IFOM, navigating the boundary between neurodevelopment and neurodegeneration. In 2024, I joined the Asahina lab as a Staff Scientist to dive deeper in the neurobiology field and help unravel the mechanisms that regulate social behavior at their origin.  Beyond the bench, I love writing about science to broaden my own horizons – and hopefully those of my readers. I also enjoy long walks and yoga – I’ve dragged almost every lab member to at least one yoga session!

I received a BS in Biological Anthropology with a minor in Mathematics from UC San Diego, where my coursework focused on evolutionary science, nonhuman animal cognition, and statistics. After graduating, I wanted to explore the neural mechanisms underlying fundamental social behaviors and found the Drosophila melanogaster system to be a compelling model. I joined the Asahina lab in 2022 as a Research Assistant, and also serve as Lab Manager, facilitating daily operations for our ongoing research. Outside of the lab, I enjoy going to zoos, museums, and thrift shops!

I received a BS in Genetics and Bioengineering from Yeditepe University and I received a MS in Molecular Medicine from Yeditepe University, Turkey. After my graduation, I worked as a postgrad research associate in a neurosurgery lab where I worked on brain tumors, aneurism and neurodevelopmental diseases at Yale University. In 2022, I joined Asahina lab as a Research Assistant II to study neuronal gene expression profiling of Drosophila melanogaster by using 10x Genomics Chromium single cell/nuclei RNA sequencing technology. Outside of lab, I like exploring restaurants and coffee shops, cooking new recipes, traveling and hiking.

I am currently majoring in Neurobiology with a minor in Cognitive Science at UC San Diego. My academic and research interests center around behavioral neurobiology and cognition, particularly in understanding the neural mechanisms that drive behavior. Outside of academics, I enjoy reading, swimming, and exploring new cafes.