Dr. Emi Nagoshi
Associate Professor, University of Geneva
Postdoctoral Fellow, Brandeis University
Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Geneva
PhD, University of Osaka
Dr. Emi Nagoshi describes many of the pivotal moments of her journey in neuroscience as happening “by chance.” As an 11-year-old girl in Japan, she happened to pick up a book about animal behavior by Nobel laureate Konrad Lorenz, catalyzing a love for behavior and biology that would lead her around the world. Now, as an Associate Professor at the University of Geneva, Emi’s lab studies the molecular and neural basis of circadian rhythms and how they are disrupted by neurodegenerative disease.
Inspired by Lorenz’s ethological writings on animal behavior, Emi studied biology at the Tohoku University. She had her first research experience in a fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) lab, where she was first introduced to the model organism she would spend her later career studying. Her early research experiences focused on tracking and modeling feeding behaviors. In Japan, undergraduate students complete a research thesis project in their fourth year, and Emi undertook a project on studying DNA repair mechanisms in E. coli. Although not directly related to the brain, her undergraduate research introduced her to basic tools and techniques in molecular biology, skills that carried her through her career in neuroscience. After graduating, she moved to the University of Osaka, where she would earn both her master’s degree and PhD.
In her master’s and PhD research, Emi applied the molecular approaches she had learned during her undergraduate thesis to a new model organism: cultured mammalian cells. She studied the molecular processes of nuclear-cytoplasmic transport – how molecules like RNA and proteins move between the cytoplasm and the nucleus of a cell. At the time of her PhD in the late 90’s, the field understood that nuclear-cytoplasmic transport involved several molecules: nuclear localization signals (NLS), importin-ɑ, and importin-β. Emi’s research focused on a different protein, sterol regulatory element-binding protein 2 (SREBP-2), which is anchored to the endoplasmic reticulum but needs to be transported into the nucleus to serve as a transcription factor for cholesterol metabolism. Emi discovered that SREBP-2 binds only to importin-β, and this dimer is necessary for it to bind to importin-ɑ and NLS and subsequently be transported into the nucleus. Emi’s introduction to research and PhD had led her into the field of molecular biology, but she was still interested in understanding the biological basis of behavior. PhD in hand, Emi matched her skills to her interests and sought a postdoc in molecular neuroscience.
Although she wasn’t yet thinking more than one step ahead along her career journey, Emi landed a postdoc in a unique lab across the world at the University of Geneva. The lab, led by Dr. Ueli Schilber, studied the molecular and neural mechanisms of circadian rhythms, a brand-new field at the time. Circadian rhythms are daily biological cycles that begin at the molecular level. Gene and protein expression naturally fluctuates in roughly 24-hour patterns, and these rhythms can ripple outward to influence whole-cell processes and behavior. Emi studied how these molecular circadian rhythms influence cell division in fibroblasts, which are found in skin. Typically, circadian rhythms studies focused on RNA, but Emi’s background in intracellular transport inspired her to look for circadian trends in transport proteins, which are highly involved in cell division. In cultured fibroblasts, she used fluorescence microscopy to identify circadian trends in transport protein density. She found that the daily rhythms of transport protein consolidation at the nucleus were shockingly consistent within cells, even in vitro when they are isolated from circadian-driving brain structures. Furthermore, a cell’s transport protein rhythms are inherited by its daughter cells, demonstrating that circadian rhythms can shape cellular machinery in ways that persist across cell generations.
Although she began her postdoc full of optimistic energy, after three years, Emi began to doubt whether a career in academia was sustainable—she feared the journey ahead would be filled with uncertainty, stress, and competition. In making her next career move, Emi decided to open her options. Since her personal life was leading her to the United States, she applied for industry positions in Boston. When she didn’t get any job offers, she decided to do a second postdoc, which she had no problem securing. She went to Brandeis University to join the lab of Dr. Michael Rosbach, who would go on to win the Nobel Prize in 2017 for his discoveries in circadian biology. Over five years in the Rosbach lab, Emi studied circadian clock neurons, cells in the brain that generate and maintain the body's 24-hour internal clock through protein production and degradation. Emi characterized these clock neurons in Drosophila using single-cell RNA sequencing and microarrays. She identified and characterized two circadian genes: transcription factor Fer2, which drives locomotor rhythms, and the fruit fly homolog of a vertebrate protein nocturin, which guides light sensitivity. Emi’s discoveries provided the field with new genetic targets to study circadian rhythms, including one she would ultimately use in her own research program.
After a master’s degree, a PhD, and eight years of postdoctoral research, Emi faced the familiar uncertainty of an academic career. Funding opportunities were more difficult to come by the more time passed post-PhD. She applied to industry positions once more, convinced she wouldn’t be able to survive in academia, but she was unsuccessful. For personal reasons, Emi wanted to return to Switzerland, so when she came across a three-year untenured position at the University of Bern, she took it. Although it didn’t have the job security of a tenure-track position, after eight years of one-year postdoc contracts, the additional two years felt like a luxury. At the University of Bern, Emi started her own lab studying circadian rhythms in Drosophila. Because the field of circadian rhythm research had gotten crowded, Emi sought new directions. Together with her lab, she dove into genetics, developing Drosophila mutants and looking for models of altered rhythms. She generated a fruit fly mutant that under expressed Fer2, the circadian transcription factor she discovered in her postdoc, and she was intrigued to discover the mutant exhibited a phenotype with altered circadian rhythms. Serendipitously, it also displayed motor deficits, a shorter lifespan, and neurodegeneration of dopamine neurons, all characteristic markers of Parkinson's Disease. Emi realized that this mutant could be used as a new model to study this neurodegenerative disorder. Revitalized with hope about her future in academia and armed with a dual-faceted approach combining circadian rhythms and Parkinson's disease, Emi landed a tenure-track job at the University of Geneva, where she runs her lab to this day.
In reflection, Emi wishes she had made it easier on herself by moving faster through her postdoc research or starting earlier. However, she also chuckles and humbly admits that despite her moments of cynicism and anxiety about a future in academia, “somehow I survived every time.” She recommends that young scientists take a flexible, compassionate approach during their academic journeys, emphasizing that a flawless, perfectly strategized academic career is not the only option to be happy and successful. In fact, the little serendipitous moments along the way can pay off unexpectedly, as in Emi’s discovery of the Parkinson’s Drosophila model. “Don’t despair, find something you like to do and surely, there is a way to survive.” In our eyes, Emi’s success was never just “by chance.” Instead, she made the most of every opportunity she came across through her own resilience, creativity, and hard work. She has surpassed merely surviving – she has thrived.
Find out more about Emi and her lab’s research here.
Listen to Margarida’s full interview with Emi on July 14, 2025 below!
