Institute of Science Tokyo

Cardiovascular &
Extracellular Vesicle Research Group

We investigate extracellular-vesicle-mediated intercellular communication in cardiovascular disease, with a particular focus on heart failure, epicardial adipose tissue, cardiac fibrosis, atrial remodeling, arrhythmias, and translational cardiovascular technologies.

Research Lead: Junji Yamaguchi, MD, PhD Assistant Professor Building 3, 10th Floor

About the Group

The Cardiovascular & Extracellular Vesicle Research Group is based at the Institute of Science Tokyo. The group is led by Junji Yamaguchi and is based in a dedicated laboratory on the 10th floor of Building 3.

Junji Yamaguchi, MD, PhD

Junji Yamaguchi, MD, PhD

Research Lead · Assistant Professor · Institute of Science Tokyo

Junji Yamaguchi leads competitively funded cardiovascular research projects and directly supervises undergraduate and graduate student research. His work combines experimental cardiovascular biology, extracellular vesicle research, translational electrophysiology, wearable sensing, and biomaterial-based approaches.

He received a PhD in Medicine from Tokyo Medical and Dental University in March 2022.

Research LeadJunji Yamaguchi, MD, PhD
PositionAssistant Professor, Institute of Science Tokyo
Research SpaceDedicated laboratory, Building 3, 10th Floor
Current Team5 Master's students + 2 undergraduate researchers

News

Research presentations, awards, competitive funding, and first-author publications from the group.

2026.03.20
Junji Yamaguchi presented “Feasibility of Wearable Inertial Measurement Unit-Based Algorithms in the Detection of Atrial Fibrillation” at the 90th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Japanese Circulation Society.Presentation
2025.12
Junji Yamaguchi received the Institute of Science Tokyo Medical Research Encouragement Award.Award
2025.12
Junji Yamaguchi received a FY2026 LOTTE Foundation Research Grant as Principal Investigator.Funding
2025.11.13
Junji Yamaguchi presented “Smartwatch-based Cardiac Diagnostics: Prospective Multicenter Comparison of Single-Lead ECG Versus Holter ECG for Atrial Fibrillation Detection” at the APHRS2025 / JHRS2025 Joint Meeting in Yokohama.Presentation
2025.11
Junji Yamaguchi received a FY2025 SENSHIN Medical Research Foundation Young Investigator Grant in Cardiovascular Medicine as Principal Investigator.Funding
2025.10.14
Junji Yamaguchi, Ryutaro Kobayashi, Miku Takizawa, and Minori Kurata presented group research at the 12th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society for Extracellular Vesicles in Osaka.Presentation
2025.10
Junji Yamaguchi received the Encouragement Award for an oral presentation at the 12th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society for Extracellular Vesicles.Award
2025.07
A first-author paper by Junji Yamaguchi, “Impact of 1 mm difference in interelectrode spacing on local electrograms and voltage/activation maps,” was published in Europace.Publication
2025.03
Junji Yamaguchi and co-authors received the Top Cited Article 2023 recognition from Pacing and Clinical Electrophysiology.Award
2024.10
A first-author paper by Junji Yamaguchi, “Feasibility and safety assessment of RF double applications in very high power and short duration ablation,” was published in Heart Rhythm.Publication
2024.06
Minori Kurata received the Graduate School Retreat Award at Tokyo Medical and Dental University under the supervision of Junji Yamaguchi.Award
2024.04
A first-author paper by Junji Yamaguchi, “Impact of contact force on the lesion characteristics of very high-power short-duration ablation using a QDOT-MICRO catheter,” was published in the Journal of Arrhythmia.Publication
2024.03.09
Junji Yamaguchi presented “In vivo Lesion Characteristics of Single vs. Double Radiofrequency Applications of Very High-power and Short-duration Ablation” at the 88th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Japanese Circulation Society.Presentation
2024.03.08
Hayato Yamashita presented supervised research at the 88th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Japanese Circulation Society and received the Outstanding Award in the Comedical Award competition.Award
2023.12.16
Minori Kurata presented extracellular-vesicle research at the 270th Kanto-Koshinetsu Regional Meeting of the Japanese Circulation Society and received the Student Award (Outstanding Award).Award
2023.12
A first-author paper by Junji Yamaguchi, “Safety verification of a novel irrigation catheter with flexible tip of laser-cut kerfs and contact force sensor,” was published in Pacing and Clinical Electrophysiology.Publication
2023.10.20
Junji Yamaguchi presented “Local injection of Hydroxyapatite electret for hind limb ischemia” at DEJI2MA-3.Presentation
2023.10.08
Minori Kurata presented “Suppression of adipogenic differentiation by extracellular vesicles derived from cardiomyocytes under oxidative stress” at the 27th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Japanese Heart Failure Society.Presentation
2023.03.10–11
Junji Yamaguchi presented two studies on radiofrequency ablation at the 87th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Japanese Circulation Society.Presentation
2023.02
A first-author paper by Junji Yamaguchi, “Comparison of Three Different Approaches to Very High-power Short-duration Ablation using the QDOT-MICRO Catheter,” was published in the Journal of Cardiovascular Electrophysiology.Publication
2022.06
Junji Yamaguchi received the 34th Fukuda Foundation for Medical Technology Research Grant.Funding
2022.04
A first-author paper by Junji Yamaguchi, “Impact of tip design and thermocouple location on the efficacy and safety of radiofrequency application,” was published in the Journal of Interventional Cardiac Electrophysiology.Publication
2022.03.13
Junji Yamaguchi presented two studies on very high-power short-duration ablation at the 86th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Japanese Circulation Society.Presentation
2022.01
A first-author paper by Junji Yamaguchi, “Local Injection of Hydroxyapatite Electret Ameliorated Infarct Size After Myocardial Infarction,” was published in Circulation Reports.Publication
Earlier first-author publication news
2021.07
A first-author case report by Junji Yamaguchi was published in JACC: Case Reports.Publication
2020.10
A first-author paper by Junji Yamaguchi on pulmonary vein isolation using VISITAG SURPOINT was published in the Journal of Cardiovascular Electrophysiology.Publication
2019.06
A first-author case report by Junji Yamaguchi on upper septal ventricular tachycardia was published in European Heart Journal – Case Reports.Publication
2017.11
A first-author case report by Junji Yamaguchi on massive pulmonary embolism with antithrombin III deficiency was published in the Journal of Cardiology Cases.Publication
2017.03
A first-author case report by Junji Yamaguchi on omental flap transposition for inferior vena cava filter penetration was published in Radiology Case Reports.Publication
2015.09
A first-author report by Junji Yamaguchi, “Shock After Successful Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention for Ventricular Fibrillation,” was published in Circulation.Publication

News entries are based on the Science Tokyo Research Information Database. Dates are shown at the level provided by the official record.

Research

Four complementary research themes define the current work of the group.

Extracellular Vesicles in Heart Failure

We study cell-of-origin-resolved extracellular vesicles and their roles in communication among cardiomyocytes, fibroblasts, vascular cells, and adipose tissue in heart failure.

Epicardial Adipose Tissue & Fibrosis

We investigate how extracellular vesicles and metabolic stress influence epicardial adipose tissue, cardiac fibrosis, and atrial remodeling.

Arrhythmia & Wearable Sensing

We develop and evaluate wearable approaches for rhythm assessment, including inertial measurement unit-based and smartwatch-based methods for atrial fibrillation detection.

Ablation & Cardiovascular Bioengineering

We study lesion formation, catheter-tissue interaction, device optimization, and biomaterial-based approaches for cardiovascular repair and angiogenesis.

Team

The group currently includes five master's students and two undergraduate researchers under the direct supervision of Junji Yamaguchi.

Junji Yamaguchi, MD, PhD

Research Lead / Assistant Professor

Principal investigator of multiple externally funded cardiovascular research projects. Research interests include extracellular vesicles, heart failure, fibrosis, arrhythmias, catheter ablation, wearable sensing, and cardiovascular biomaterials.

Master's Students — M2

3 researchers
  • Miku Takizawa
  • Minori Sato
  • Ryutaro Kobayashi

Master's Students — M1

2 researchers
  • Riko Nakajima
  • Ryuto Teraoka

Undergraduate Researchers

Graduation research
  • Kaho Ueebisu
  • Taisei Sase

Alumni

Minori Kurata
Former student researcher

Research focus: extracellular vesicles released from cardiomyocytes under oxidative stress and their effects on adipogenic differentiation. Recipient of the 2023 JCS Kanto-Koshinetsu Student Award (Outstanding Award) and the 2024 Graduate School Retreat Award under the supervision of Junji Yamaguchi.

Student names are listed without photographs. Public listing should be maintained only with the students' consent.

Selected Publications

Selected cardiovascular and electrophysiology publications involving Junji Yamaguchi.

Impact of 1 mm difference in interelectrode spacing on local electrograms and voltage/activation maps First author
Europace. 2025;27(7).
Feasibility and safety assessment of RF double applications in very high power and short duration ablation First author
Heart Rhythm. 2024;22(9):2331–2339.
Impact of contact force on the lesion characteristics of very high-power short-duration ablation using a QDOT-MICRO catheter First author
Journal of Arrhythmia. 2024;40(2):247–255.
Safety verification of a novel irrigation catheter with flexible tip of laser-cut kerfs and contact force sensor First author
Pacing and Clinical Electrophysiology. 2023;46(12):1536–1545.
Comparison of three different approaches to very high-power short-duration ablation using the QDOT-MICRO catheter First author
Journal of Cardiovascular Electrophysiology. 2023;34(4):888–897.
Circulating Extracellular Vesicles Downregulate NOS3 Expression in Endothelial Cells in Atrial Fibrillation
Journal of Clinical Medicine. 2026;15(4):1399.

View full publication record on the official Science Tokyo Research Information DB →

Presentations & Student Research

Selected presentations highlighting group-led cardiovascular, extracellular vesicle, and student research.

Feasibility of Wearable Inertial Measurement Unit-Based Algorithms in the Detection of Atrial Fibrillation
The 90th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Japanese Circulation Society, 2026.
Smartwatch-based Cardiac Diagnostics: Prospective Multicenter Comparison of Single-Lead ECG Versus Holter ECG for Atrial Fibrillation Detection
APHRS2025 / JHRS2025 Joint Meeting, Yokohama, 2025.
High-sensitivity cell sorting of plasma extracellular vesicles by cellular origin: methodological establishment and specificity validation
12th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society for Extracellular Vesicles, 2025.
Regulation of adipogenic differentiation by extracellular vesicles derived from myofibroblasts
Ryutaro Kobayashi et al. · 12th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society for Extracellular Vesicles, Osaka, 2025.
Cardiac fibrosis regulation by cardiomyocyte-derived extracellular vesicles under oxidative stress
Miku Takizawa et al. · 12th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society for Extracellular Vesicles, Osaka, 2025.
Suppression of adipogenic differentiation by extracellular vesicles released from cardiomyocytes under oxidative stress
Student-led research · 12th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society for Extracellular Vesicles, Osaka, 2025.
Adipogenic regulation by extracellular vesicles released from cardiomyocytes under oxidative stress
Supervised student presentation · 270th Kanto-Koshinetsu Regional Meeting of the Japanese Circulation Society, 2023.
Suppression of adipogenic differentiation by extracellular vesicles derived from cardiomyocytes under oxidative stress
Supervised student presentation · 27th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Japanese Heart Failure Society, 2023.

Funding & Recognition

Current / Recent Competitive Funding

  • LOTTE Foundation Research Grant, FY2026 — Principal Investigator
  • SENSHIN Medical Research Foundation Research Grant, FY2025 — Principal Investigator
  • JSPS KAKENHI Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists (23K14460), FY2023–FY2025 — Principal Investigator
  • Fukuda Foundation for Medical Technology Research Grant, FY2023 — Principal Investigator
  • JSPS KAKENHI Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up (22K20756), FY2022–FY2023 — Principal Investigator

Awards & Mentored Student Recognition

  • Institute of Science Tokyo Medical Research Encouragement Award, 2025
  • Encouragement Award, 12th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society for Extracellular Vesicles, 2025
  • Top Cited Article 2023, Pacing and Clinical Electrophysiology
  • Graduate School Retreat Award, 2024 — student award; Junji Yamaguchi listed as supervising faculty
  • Japanese Circulation Society Comedical Award, 2024 — awardee supervised by Junji Yamaguchi
  • JCS Kanto-Koshinetsu Student Award, 2023 — awardee supervised by Junji Yamaguchi

Contact

Cardiovascular & Extracellular Vesicle Research Group
Institute of Science Tokyo

Junji Yamaguchi, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor
Email: yamaguchi.j.b1a4 [at] m.isct.ac.jp

Official Science Tokyo Profile ORCID NII / KAKEN Researcher Profile