Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences
Tohoku University

My research focuses on the anthropological study from the past to the present. In particular, I am interested in applied and interdisciplinary research that cuts across medicinal science, anthropology, and archaeology, through the morphological analysis of the skull and tooth of skeletal remains.

1. Three-dimensional analysis of facial morphology for facial approximation
　Facial approximation is a scientific method of reconstructing the shape of the face before death, based on the shape of the cranium. The research results are often seen in museum exhibitions; it is also used in criminal investigations or in the search for missing person. This is an important research subject of great social significance. In order to perform a facial approximation, it is necessary to know the value how much muscle and skin are to be superimposed on the surface of the skull. My study aims to analyse the shape of the modern Japanese face using a large number of medical image-based data and incorporating deep learning to obtain accurate data for facial approximation, taking into account the effects of tooth occlusion and body size.

2. Investigation of the formation process of the Japanes based on the tooth morphology
　It is known that the size and shape of the teeth are slightly different in each population. I have been studying the size and shape of teeth of skeletal remains excavated from various archaeological sites in Japan in order to clarify the physical characteristics of each group since Jomon period, and to elucidate the formation and movement of Japanese in higher resolution than before.