Rate My Professor Susumu Katsuma

Susumu Katsuma is a Professor in the Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences at The University of Tokyo, serving also as Director of the Institute for Sustainable Agro-ecosystem Services since 2024. He completed his undergraduate studies in the Faculty of Agriculture, Division of Science II, at The University of Tokyo from 1991 to 1995, followed by a master's degree in Production and Environmental Biology from the Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences between 1995 and 1997. His professional career commenced as a researcher at the Eastern Research Laboratories of Nippon Shinyaku Co., Ltd. from 1997 to 2003. He then held a research fellowship at The University of Tokyo in 2003, a specially appointed assistant professor position at Kyoto University's Institute for Chemical Research from 2003 to 2005, and returned to The University of Tokyo as an assistant professor from 2005 to 2007. He advanced to associate professor in 2007, a role he maintained until becoming full professor in April 2021.

Katsuma's research centers on the genetic and molecular mechanisms by which insect viruses like baculoviruses and symbiotic bacteria such as Wolbachia manipulate lepidopteran hosts, encompassing sex determination, dosage compensation, behavioral manipulation, and cytoskeletal remodeling. Notable contributions include identifying the Masculinizer (Masc)-PSI complex's role in inducing male-type doublesex splicing in silkworms, Wolbachia genes responsible for male-killing via cell proliferation promotion, and baculovirus strategies for breaching host basal lamina. He has authored key publications such as 'A Wolbachia factor for male killing in lepidopteran insects' (Nature Communications, 2022), 'Baculoviruses remodel the cytoskeleton of insect hemocytes to breach the host basal lamina' (2025), 'The Masc-PSI complex directly induces male-type doublesex splicing in silkworms' (2025), and books including 'Biological Control, 2nd Edition' (2022) and 'The Science of Silkworms: Baculoviruses that Manipulate Silkworm Larval Behavior' (2020). Katsuma has earned prestigious awards, including the Empress Teimei Memorial Silkworm and Silk Science Award (2021), the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Award (2017), the Japan Silkworm and Silk Association Award (2018), and the Nagase Award for Research Promotion (2022). He leads multiple major grants on pathogen-host interactions, advancing insect pathology, biotechnology applications, and evolutionary biology.