11/2023
Parallel neural pathways control sodium consumption and taste valence
Congratulations to Yameng! Her work was just published in Cell. The study demonstrates how our brain controls the palatability of salt. We enjoy salty food but too much salt is disgusting (imagine ocean water). But when the body needs salt and minerals, like after exercise, too much salt suddenly becomes palatable. The study pinpointed two parallel brain circuits that controls concentration- and internal-state-dependent salt taste regulation. This study reveals a novel regulatory mechanism of mineral homeostasis, but it also provides insights into a new way to control salt overconsumption.

9/2023
Recovery of missing single-cell RNA-sequencing data with optimized transcriptomic references
Allan and Yuki's work on improving the accuracy of scRNA-seq has been published in Nature Methods! Their paper is the result of a several-year effort to build a computational framework to improve cellular profiling resolution through the optimization of reference transcriptomes. This is an exciting study that saw a dramatic increase in the number of genes detected per cell, revealing previously "invisible" cell types and gene expression.

5/2023
Elin's graduation
Congratulations to Elin for graduating from Caltech!! She was selected as an awardee of the prestigious 2023 Richard P. Schuster Memorial Prize. This prize recognizes her excellent undergraduate work and thesis in our laboratory. Good luck on the next position!

5/2023
Jacob's Party in Malibu
Our lab research technician, Jacob's farewell party was held at the beach in Malibu with the great sunshine. Everyone enjoyed meals and hiking. We encountered sealions and a whale near the beach.

11/2022
Lab Members enjoy a Thanksgiving Party
We celebrated Thanksgiving with an awesome feast and various drinks.

1/2022
Sensory representation and detection mechanisms of gut osmolality change
Congratulations, Takako and Tongtong. Their work has been published in Nature. This study identified the site and mechanisms of gut osmolality sensing for thirst regulation. We provide another piece of data to understand how our body and brain work together to maintain internal environment.

11/2021
Oka Lab Celebrates Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving at the Oka household is now an annual tradition! Yuki and Mari again graciously hosted the lab at their home for a fabulous meal!

10/2021
Oka Lab Receives New Funding from NIH and the Caltech Heritage Medical Institute
We appreciate essential new supports from NIH and the Caltech Heritage Medical Institute. Yuki is now appointed as an investigator of HMRI.

8/2021
Another Graduate from the Oka Lab -Takako Yamamoto
Congratulations to Takako for her new position at Niigata University in Japan as an Assistant Professor! She is a master of surgery and completed a very nice study about peripheral sensory signaling. We are sad to see her leave, but could not be more excited for her in pursuing her newest chapter

7/2021
A New PI from the Oka Lab - Prof. Allan-Hermann Pool
Congratulations to Allan for becoming a new PI! Allan will open his laboratory at UT Southwestern this November. He will use transcriptomic and circuit technologies to uncover the mechanisms behind pain and analgesia! Allan will be sorely missed, but we could not be more excited for him and wish him the best of luck in his newest endeavor!

6/2021
Oka Lab Malibu Beach Trip
After a long lockdown period, we were finally able to head out to Malibu for famous lobster rolls and a day of beach games!

4/2021
Zhe Yang Receives Postdoc Scholarship
Congrats to Zhe for receiving Caltech divisional postdoctoral scholarship awards! We appreciate the generous support from the Division of Biology and Biological Engineering here at Caltech!


10/2020
All Things Considered - NPR News Feature
Yuki joins reporter Jon Hamilton on popular NPR news series, All Things Considered, to discuss Allan and Tongtong's findings from their recent publication in Nature, The cellular basis of distinct thirst modalities.Read the transcript or have a listen.

10/2020
Caltech News Feature
Yuki dicusses Allan and Tongtong's recent Nature publication, The cellular basis of distinct thirst modalities, in a feature in Caltech news. Click to read the full article!

10/2020
The cellular basis of distinct thirst modalities
Allan and Tongtong's paper in collaboration with UC Berkeley is now published in Nature. Congratulations to them both! This paper demonstrates that thirst is not a simple perception. Rather, different types of thirst are mediated by unique neuron classes in the brain.

7/2020
Oka Lab Celebration
2020 has been challenging and anxious year to say the least, but despite this, many of our lab members have accomplished amazing things within the past few months. Unfortunately with the pandemic, we weren't able to meet up for each new accomplishment until recently. With this, we will soon say farewell to one of our first graduate students to join our lab, Sangjun Lee, and our long time lab manager, Brittany Ho. We celebrate Yameng Zhang joining our lab, as well as Allan's work being accepted for publication! Stay tuned to find out more details! Glad to see everyone from Oka Lab is thriving!

5/2020
Sangjun's Successful Defense
After years of hard work, Sangjun has successfully defended his thesis work unveiling the neural basis of sodium appetite. Congratulations Dr. Sangjun Lee!

5/2020
Yuki's Tenure Granted
Congratulations to Prof. Oka for being promoted to a full professor! The lab will work even harder to contribute to neuroscience!

4/2020
Sloan Research Fellow
Congratulations to the lab for winning the Sloan Research Fellowship!

1/2020
Neural Control and Modulation of Thirst, Sodium, Appetite, and Hunger
Vinny and Sangjun's review has been published in Cell - click to learn more!

11/2019
Oka Lab Celebrates Thanksgiving!
Yuki hosted a Thanksgiving gathering at his home, with him and his wife Mari providing us with a spectacular meal! One for the books!

10/2019
NYSCF - Robertson Neuroscience Investigator Award
Yuki recieved 1.5 million in funding from the New York Stem Cell Foundation! This award is given every 5 years and to only 3 early career neuroscience researchers internationally.

NYSCF | NYSCF Announces 2019 Class of NYSCF - Robertson Investigators
Caltech | Oka Recieves Grant to Study Innante Brain Circuits

10/2019
Multimodal Analysis of Cell Types in a Hypothalmic Node Controlling Social Behavior
Our collaboration paper has been published in Cell! This work was done in David Anderson's lab at Caltech.

6/2019
Caltech 2019 Graduation
A few of our students received their degrees this past Friday! Congrats to Vinny Augustine, Ph.D., Sangjun Lee, M.S., and Madelyn Stroder, B.S.! Vinny will be starting his own lab at The Scripps Research Institute in San Diego in August and Madelyn will be beginning medical school at the University of Missouri this fall. Sangjun will be sticking with us to finish up his Ph.D. We couldn't be more proud!

6/2019
Best Thesis Award in the Division of Biology and Biological Engineering
Vinny has been awarded the Lawrence L. and Audrey W. Ferguson Prize for his thesis work on the neural architecture underlying thirst regulation. Congratulations Vinny!

5/2019
Temporally and spatially distinct thirst satiation signals
Vinny's and Haruka's work has been published in Neuron! Check out the news articles below to learn more.

Caltech | Being Refreshed Is Not The Same As Being Hydrated
Scientific American | Does Thirst Start in the Mouth or the Gut?
The New York Times | Why Gulping Down a Cold Drink Feels So Rewarding

3/2019
Chemosensory modulation of neural circuits for sodium appetite
Sangjun's work has been published in Nature! Check out the links below to learn more.

Caltech | The Salt-Craving Neurons
NPR | Blech! Brain Science Explains Why You're Not Thirsty For Salt Water

3/2019
Neural populations for maintaining body fluid balance
Takako's review paper has been published in Current Opinion in Neurobiology!

6/2018
Della Martin Fellowship in Mental Illness
Dr. Takako Ichiki-Yamamoto was awarded the Della Martin Fellowship in Mental Illness!

6/2018
Peripheral and central nutrient sensing underlying appetite regulation
Vinny's review paper has been published in Trends in Neurosciences!

4/2018
2018 Young Investigator Award
Congratulations to Yuki on being awarded the 2018 Young Investigator Award for emerging leaders in the field of Gustation or Oral Chemosensation!

2/2018
Hierarchical neural architecture underlying thirst regulation
Vinny's work has been published in Nature! Check out the links below to learn more.

Caltech | Mapping the Neural Circuit Governing Thirst
The New York Times | You Get Thirsty and Drink. How Does Your Brain Signal You've Had Enough?
NIH News | Scientistc show how thte brain may be wired for drinking fluids

2/2018
Vinny successfully completed his pre-defense!
Congratulations Vinny!

5/2017
The cellular mechanisms for water detection in the mammalian taste system
Dhruv's work has been published in Nature Neuroscience! Check out the links below to learn more.

Caltech | Sour Taste Cells Detect Water
Science News | Tongues 'taste' water by sensing sour
Science | Scientists discover a sixth sense on the tongue-for water

5/2017
Uehara Foundation Fellowship
Our postdocs, Dr. Takako Ichiki-Yamamoto and Dr. Haruka Ebisu, were both awarded the Uehara Foundation Fellowship!

4/2017
Della Martin Fellowship in Mental Illness
Dr. Sertan Kutal Gokce was awarded the Della Martin Fellowship in Mental Illness!

6/2016
Sangjun passed his candidacy exam!
Congratulations Sangjun!

5/2016
McKnight Scholar Award
Yuki has been selected among six neuroscientists to recieve the 2016 McKnight Scholar Award!

10/2015
Okawa Foundation Grant Award
Yuki has received The Okawa Foundation for Information and Telecommunications Research Grant!

9/2015
Edward Mallinckrodt, JR Foundation Grant
Yuki received the Edward Mallinckrodt, JR Foundation Grant!

4/2015
Searle Scholar
Yuki has been named a 2015 Searle Scholar!

1/2015
Thirst driving and supressing signals encoded by distinct neural populations in the brain
Yuki's work has been published in Nature! The paper describes mind-controlling experiments using optogenetics.

The Scientist | Thirst Neurons Found