Rate My Professor Koichi Nakazato

Koichi Nakazato is a Professor in the Exercise Physiology Laboratory at Nippon Sport Science University. He is affiliated with the Faculty of Health and Medical Care, Department of Orthopedic Therapy, and the Graduate School of Physical Education, Health Sciences and Sports Medical Sciences program. Nakazato also serves as Director of the Research Institute for Sport Science and Vice President of the university. He earned a Bachelor’s degree from the Faculty of General Education, Department of Basic Sciences I, University of Tokyo in 1992, followed by a Doctor of Science from the Graduate School of Comprehensive Cultural Studies, Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tokyo in 1998. His professional career at Nippon Sport Science University commenced in April 1998 as an Assistant in the Graduate School of Health Sciences and Sports Medical Sciences. He advanced to Lecturer in the Faculty of Physical Education, Department of Health, Exercise Physiology Laboratory in 2002; Associate Professor in the same department in 2005; and Professor in 2011. From 2004 to 2005, he was a Visiting Scholar at the University of California, Los Angeles. Since 2014, he has been in the Faculty of Medical Science.

Nakazato's research centers on musculoskeletal and neural tissues critical to bodily movements, including skeletal muscle, tendons, and ligaments. Key interests encompass mechanisms of muscle hypertrophy and damage from resistance training and stretch-induced contractions, neural dysfunction in muscle strains, modulation of skeletal muscle function via nutrition, influences of mechanical stimuli and extracellular matrix on cultured muscle cell differentiation, and associations between human gene polymorphisms and sports performance or injury susceptibility. He has authored numerous peer-reviewed papers, accumulating over 6,000 citations on Google Scholar. Selected publications include "Low-load bench press and push-up induce similar muscle hypertrophy and mechanical strength specific to the triceps brachii" (2017); "Monocarboxylate transporter 4 deficiency enhances high-intensity interval training-induced metabolic adaptations in skeletal muscle" (2024); "Effects of repetition duration on skeletal muscle hypertrophy in a rat model of resistance exercise" (2025); "Beta-nicotinamide mononucleotide attenuates creatine kinase release in Duchenne muscular dystrophy model rats" (2025); and "Genetic Factors of Elite Wrestling Status: A Multi-Ethnic Comparative Study" (2025). Nakazato leads funded projects from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science on skeletal muscle atrophy mechanisms and electrical stimulation interventions.