Kazuhito Morioka, MD, PhD

Title(s)Assistant Professor, Orthopaedic Surgery
SchoolSchool of Medicine
Address2540 23rd Street, #2907
San Francisco CA 94110
Phone628-206-3734
Emailkazuhito.morioka@ucsf.edu
PronounsHe/Him/His
ORCID ORCID Icon0000-0001-5407-8178 Additional info
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    Collapse Biography 
    Collapse Education and Training
    The Jikei University, School of Medicine, JapanMD03/2000School of Medicine
    The University of Tokyo and the affiliated hospitals, JapanResidency06/2002Orthopaedic Surgery
    The University of Tokyo, JapanPhD03/2009Graduate School of Medicine
    National Rehabilitation Center for Persons with Disabilities, JapanResearch Fellow03/2012Neuroscience
    University of California, San Francisco, CAPostdoctoral Research Fellow03/2018Neurological Surgery
    University of California, San Francisco, CA03/2021Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Champion Training
    University of California, San Francisco, CA12/2021Entrepreneurship for Life Science/Healthcare Startups: Master Class Direct from Silicon Valley
    Collapse Awards and Honors
    27th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society for Bone and Mineral Research2009Young Investigator Award (Clinical Research)
    31st Annual Meeting of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research2009Plenary Poster
    Japan Neuroscience Society & Society for Neuroscience2011JNS-SfN Exchange Travel Award
    32th Annual symposium of the National Neurotrauma Society2014Student Competition Finalist Presenter
    33rd Annual symposium of the National Neurotrauma Society2015Student Competition Finalist Presenter

    Collapse Overview 
    Collapse Overview
    Over the past 10 years, Dr. Morioka has worked in clinical orthopaedic surgery from an emergency to rehabilitation as a board-certified orthopaedic surgeon at the University of Tokyo. In the Ph.D., he focused my clinical scientist training on better understanding orthopaedic disorders and developing innovative therapies at Dr. Yusuke Nakamura’s Laboratory, University of Tokyo. After training of pre-clinical central nervous system trauma research at Dr. Martin E. Schwab’s Laboratory, University of Zurich, he conducted the funded projects on spinal cord injury (SCI) research focusing on disuse and spasticity at Japanese National Rehabilitation Center. His mentoring and grantsmanship skills were developed through these experiences.

    As a postdoctoral fellow in the UCSF Brain and Spinal Injury Center (BASIC), Dr. Morioka performed research on synaptic plasticity after injury using a comprehensive approach to identify the mechanisms underlying the pathological alternations, which was supported by an Austrian research grant. Leveraging his broad background and expertise, he conducted the collaborative research on polytrauma (traumatic brain injury with concomitant bone fracture) with the UCSF Orthopaedic Trauma Institute (OTI), osteoarthritis with the UCSF Radiology & Biomedical Imaging, microgravity with the UCSD Clinical Physiology Laboratory, and translational SCI with the VA Gordon Mansfield SCI Consortium. These experiences formulated his scientific approach as well as strengthened his mentoring ability.

    Dr. Morioka’s current research at the OTI focuses on endochondral fracture healing to study pathological mechanisms and therapeutic intervention for intractable bone fractures, such as delayed, mal, non-union in terms of the interaction between the musculoskeletal and nervous systems. His future research interests are shaped by all experiences toward the cross-interaction within both systems for further understanding of systematical mechanisms of orthopaedic disorders. He hopes that his works might improve patients' quality of life by addressing significant unmet clinical needs.

    Collapse Research 
    Collapse Research Activities and Funding
    Targeting Metaplasia to Enhance Fracture Healing Outcomes, an Animal Model
    OTC Foundation Research Grant 2022-RMKMSep 1, 2022 - Aug 31, 2025
    Role: Co-Investigator
    Nociplastic spinal cord-muscle loop in degenerative disc disease (DDD)
    UCSF RAP Academic Senate & CCMBM Pilot for Junior Investigators in Basic and Clinical/Translational Sciences Feb 1, 2022 - Jul 31, 2025
    Role: Principal Investigator
    Maladaptive Plasticity in Spinal Cord Injury: Cellular Mechanisms
    NIH R01NS122888Jul 15, 2021 - Jun 30, 2026
    Role: Co-Investigator
    Investigation of loading-related spinal plasticity after spinal cord Injury (SCI)
    Wings for Life Spinal Cord Research Foundation Individual Research Grant WFL-US-013/13Apr 1, 2013 - Mar 31, 2015
    Role: Principal Investigator
    The role of remyelination in functional recovery after spinal cord injury
    Japan Society for the Promotion of Science KAKENHI Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B) 23300204May 1, 2011 - Mar 31, 2013
    Role: Co-Investigator
    Investigating the mechanism and management of spasticity after spinal cord injury
    Japan Society for the Promotion of Science KAKENHI Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B) 23700659May 1, 2011 - Mar 31, 2013
    Role: Principal Investigator
    Induction of corticospinal tract regeneration in chronic spinal cord injury rats, using combination of gene transfer and motor training
    The Japanese Society for Musculoskeletal Medicine Scientific Project Jan 1, 2010 - Dec 31, 2011
    Role: Co-Investigator
    Identification of possible treatment effects of functional recovery by rehabilitation after spinal cord injury
    Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Welfare Foundation Research Grant Jan 1, 2010 - Dec 31, 2010
    Role: Principal Investigator
    Investigating the mechanism for contribution of rehabilitation to functional recovery in the subacute phase of spinal cord injury
    Japan Society for the Promotion of Science KAKENHI Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists 21800092Apr 1, 2009 - Mar 31, 2010
    Role: Principal Investigator

    Collapse ORNG Applications 
    Collapse Collaboration Interests

    Collapse Featured Content 
    Collapse Twitter

    Collapse Bibliographic 
    Collapse Publications
    Publications listed below are automatically derived from MEDLINE/PubMed and other sources, which might result in incorrect or missing publications. Researchers can login to make corrections and additions, or contact us for help. to make corrections and additions.
    Newest   |   Oldest   |   Most Cited   |   Most Discussed   |   Timeline   |   Field Summary   |   Plain Text
    Altmetrics Details PMC Citations indicate the number of times the publication was cited by articles in PubMed Central, and the Altmetric score represents citations in news articles and social media. (Note that publications are often cited in additional ways that are not shown here.) Fields are based on how the National Library of Medicine (NLM) classifies the publication's journal and might not represent the specific topic of the publication. Translation tags are based on the publication type and the MeSH terms NLM assigns to the publication. Some publications (especially newer ones and publications not in PubMed) might not yet be assigned Field or Translation tags.) Click a Field or Translation tag to filter the publications.
    1. Cellular signaling pathways in the nervous system activated by various mechanical and electromagnetic stimuli. Front Mol Neurosci. 2024; 17:1427070. Ryu Y, Wague A, Liu X, Feeley BT, Ferguson AR, Morioka K. PMID: 39430293; PMCID: PMC11486767.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:
    2. Improving rigor and reproducibility in western blot experiments with the blotRig analysis. Sci Rep. 2024 09 17; 14(1):21644. Omondi C, Chou A, Fond KA, Morioka K, Joseph NR, Sacramento JA, Iorio E, Torres-Espin A, Radabaugh HL, Davis JA, Gumbel JH, Huie JR, Ferguson AR. PMID: 39284854; PMCID: PMC11405887.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:    Fields:    Translation:Humans
    3. Improving rigor and reproducibility in western blot experiments with the blotRig analysis software. bioRxiv. 2023 Aug 05. Omondi C, Chou A, Fond KA, Morioka K, Joseph NR, Sacramento JA, Iorio E, Torres-Espin A, Radabaugh HL, Davis JA, Gumbel JH, Russell Huie J, Ferguson AR. PMID: 37577570; PMCID: PMC10418285.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:
    4. The biomechanical implications of neck position in cervical contusion animal models of SCI. Front Neurol. 2023; 14:1152472. Obaid N, Morioka K, Sinopoulou E, Nout-Lomas YS, Salegio E, Bresnahan JC, Beattie MS, Sparrey CJ. PMID: 37346165; PMCID: PMC10280737.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 1  
    5. Altered early immune response after fracture and traumatic brain injury. Front Immunol. 2023; 14:1074207. Haffner-Luntzer M, Weber B, Morioka K, Lackner I, Fischer V, Bahney C, Ignatius A, Kalbitz M, Marcucio R, Miclau T. PMID: 36761764; PMCID: PMC9905106.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 6     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    6. Appendicular Fracture and Polytrauma Correlate with Outcome of Spinal Cord Injury: A Transforming Research and Clinical Knowledge in Spinal Cord Injury Study. J Neurotrauma. 2022 08; 39(15-16):1030-1038. Miclau TA, Torres-Espin A, Morshed S, Morioka K, Huie JR, El Naga AN, Chou A, Pascual L, Duong-Fernandez X, Kuo YH, Weinstein P, Dhall SS, Bresnahan JC, Beattie MS, Digiorgio A, Ferguson AR, Transforming Research and Clinical Knowledge in Spinal Cord Injury (TRACK-SCI) Investigators. PMID: 35255740; PMCID: PMC9536347.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:    Fields:    Translation:Humans
    7. Promoting FAIR Data Through Community-driven Agile Design: the Open Data Commons for Spinal Cord Injury (odc-sci.org). Neuroinformatics. 2022 01; 20(1):203-219. Torres-Espín A, Almeida CA, Chou A, Huie JR, Chiu M, Vavrek R, Sacramento J, Orr MB, Gensel JC, Grethe JS, Martone ME, Fouad K, Ferguson AR, STREET-FAIR Workshop Participants. PMID: 34347243; PMCID: PMC9537193.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 12     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    8. Systemic and local cardiac inflammation after experimental long bone fracture, traumatic brain injury and combined trauma in mice. Journal of Orthopaedic Translation. 2021 May 1; 28:39-46. Lackner LI, Weber WB, Haffner-Luntzer HM, Hristova HS, Gebhard GF, Lam LC, Morioka MK, Marcucio MR, Miclau MT, Kalbitz KM. .
      View in: Publisher Site   Mentions:
    9. Blocking Kv1.3 potassium channels prevents postoperative neuroinflammation and cognitive decline without impairing wound healing in mice. Br J Anaesth. 2020 09; 125(3):298-307. Lai IK, Valdearcos M, Morioka K, Saxena S, Feng X, Li R, Uchida Y, Lijun A, Li W, Pan J, Koliwad S, Marcucio R, Wulff H, Maze M. PMID: 32624183; PMCID: PMC7497028.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 13     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    10. Differential fracture response to traumatic brain injury suggests dominance of neuroinflammatory response in polytrauma. Sci Rep. 2019 08 21; 9(1):12199. Morioka K, Marmor Y, Sacramento JA, Lin A, Shao T, Miclau KR, Clark DR, Beattie MS, Marcucio RS, Miclau T, Ferguson AR, Bresnahan JC, Bahney CS. PMID: 31434912; PMCID: PMC6704103.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 22     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    11. Meaningful Experiences in Overseas Academia: Facing the Challenge of the Global Era. Journal of Saitama Medical University. 2019; 2(45):55-62. Morioka K. View Publication.
    12. Spine and spinal cord injuries: Evaluation and treatment. The Journal of the Japan Medical Association. 2018; 146(11):2231-5. Ishii K, Morioka K, Shindo M. View Publication.
    13. Collaboration is a friend in need?: Academic communication all over the world. Experimental Medicine. 2018; 3(36):466-469. Morioka K. View Publication.
    14. MRI and biomechanics multidimensional data analysis reveals R2 -R1ρ as an early predictor of cartilage lesion progression in knee osteoarthritis. J Magn Reson Imaging. 2018 01; 47(1):78-90. Pedoia V, Haefeli J, Morioka K, Teng HL, Nardo L, Souza RB, Ferguson AR, Majumdar S. PMID: 28471543; PMCID: PMC5967390.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 20     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    15. Topological Data Analysis to Predict Cartilage Lesion Progression in Knee Osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis and Cartilage. 2017 Apr 1; 25:s240-s241. Pedoia PV, Haefeli HJ, Morioka MK, Teng TH, Nardo NL, Souza SR, Ferguson FA, Majumdar MS. .
      View in: Publisher Site   Mentions:
    16. The swimming test is effective for evaluating spasticity after contusive spinal cord injury. PLoS One. 2017; 12(2):e0171937. Ryu Y, Ogata T, Nagao M, Kitamura T, Morioka K, Ichihara Y, Doi T, Sawada Y, Akai M, Nishimura R, Fujita N. PMID: 28182676; PMCID: PMC5300247.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 17     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    17. What Is Being Trained? How Divergent Forms of Plasticity Compete To Shape Locomotor Recovery after Spinal Cord Injury. J Neurotrauma. 2017 05 15; 34(10):1831-1840. Huie JR, Morioka K, Haefeli J, Ferguson AR. PMID: 27875927; PMCID: PMC5444482.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 13     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimals
    18. Assessments of sensory plasticity after spinal cord injury across species. Neurosci Lett. 2017 Jun 23; 652:74-81. Haefeli J, Huie JR, Morioka K, Ferguson AR. PMID: 28007646; PMCID: PMC5466896.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 1     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimals
    19. Complication, rehabilitation, and pharmacological therapy in the patient with acute spinal cord injury. Orthopedic Surgery. 2016; 35(70):220-5. Ishii K, Morioka K. View Publication.
    20. The crucial role of Erk2 in demyelinating inflammation in the central nervous system. J Neuroinflammation. 2016 09 05; 13(1):235. Okazaki R, Doi T, Hayakawa K, Morioka K, Imamura O, Takishima K, Hamanoue M, Sawada Y, Nagao M, Tanaka S, Ogata T. PMID: 27596241; PMCID: PMC5011945.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 12     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    21. Changes in treatment strategies for cervical spinal cord injury. Journal of Joint Surgery. 2016; 35(6):580-7. Ishii K, Morioka K. View Publication.
    22. Cell-permeable p38 MAP kinase promotes migration of adult neural stem/progenitor cells. Sci Rep. 2016 Apr 12; 6:24279. Hamanoue M, Morioka K, Ohsawa I, Ohsawa K, Kobayashi M, Tsuburaya K, Akasaka Y, Mikami T, Ogata T, Takamatsu K. PMID: 27067799; PMCID: PMC4828673.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 8     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    23. Application of 3D Printing for Smart Objects with Embedded Electronic Sensors and Systems. Advanced Materials Technologies. 2016 Apr 1; 1(1):1600013. Ota OH, Emaminejad ES, Gao GY, Zhao ZA, Wu WE, Challa CS, Chen CK, Fahad FH, Jha JA, Kiriya KD, Gao GW, Shiraki SH, Morioka MK, Ferguson FA, Healy HK, Davis DR, Javey JA. .
      View in: Publisher Site   Mentions:
    24. Early hindlimb unloading produces chronic biomechanical, physiological and molecular signatures of maladaptive plasticity in SCI. Journal of Neurotrauma. 2015; 32(12):A2. Morioka K, Tazoe T, Huie JR, Guandique CF, Ma X, Sacramento JA, Tanaka S, Bresnahan JC, Beattie MS, Ogata T, Ferguson AR. View Publication.
    25. Lipopolysaccharide preconditioning facilitates M2 activation of resident microglia after spinal cord injury. J Neurosci Res. 2014 Dec; 92(12):1647-58. Hayakawa K, Okazaki R, Morioka K, Nakamura K, Tanaka S, Ogata T. PMID: 25044014.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 39     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    26. Early hindlimb unloading produces maladaptive plasticity that limits functional recovery after spinal cord injury (SCI). Journal of Neurotrauma. 2014; 31(12):A6. Morioka K, Tazoe T, Ma X, Guandique CF, VanCitters L, Huie JR, Bresnahan JC, Beattie MS, Tanaka S, Ferguson AR, Ogata T. View Publication.
    27. p38 MAP kinase enhances secretion of GDNF and VEGF from rat spinal cord microglia. Journal of Neurochemistry. 2012; 123(s1):91–92. Hamanoue M, Morioka K, Ogata T, Nakajima K, Takamatsu K. View Publication.
    28. Evaluating the Severity of Acute Spinal Cord Injuries using Blood Biomarkers. The Japanese Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine. 2012; 49(8):501-3. Ogata T, Morioka K, Tobimatsu Y, Nakamura K, Akai M, Okazaki R, Hayakawa K, Ueno T. View Publication.
    29. Phosphorylated neurofilament subunit NF-H as a biomarker for evaluating the severity of spinal cord injury patients, a pilot study. Spinal Cord. 2012 Jul; 50(7):493-6. Hayakawa K, Okazaki R, Ishii K, Ueno T, Izawa N, Tanaka Y, Toyooka S, Matsuoka N, Morioka K, Ohori Y, Nakamura K, Akai M, Tobimatsu Y, Hamabe Y, Ogata T. PMID: 22270191.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 36     Fields:    Translation:HumansCells
    30. Phosphorylated neurofilament subunit NF-H (pNF-H) as a biomarker for evaluating severity of acute spinal cord injury patients. Neuroscience Research. 2011 Sep 1; 71:e59. Ogata OT, Hayakawa HK, Okazaki OR, Morioka MK, Ishii IK, Tobimatsu TY. .
      View in: Publisher Site   Mentions:
    31. The pivotal role of load-related afferent input for the spontaneous recovery of locomotion after incomplete spinal cord injury. Journal of Neurotrauma. 2011; 28(6):A24–25. Morioka K, Tazoe T, Endoh T, Hayakawa K, Okazaki R, Kawaguchi H, Nakamura K, Ogata T. View Publication.
    32. Current status of central nervous system regeneration. Journal of therapy. 2011; 93(2):314-8. Ogata T, Morioka K. View Publication.
    33. Hes1 functions downstream of growth factors to maintain oligodendrocyte lineage cells in the early progenitor stage. Neuroscience. 2011 Mar 10; 176:132-41. Ogata T, Ueno T, Hoshikawa S, Ito J, Okazaki R, Hayakawa K, Morioka K, Yamamoto S, Nakamura K, Tanaka S, Akai M. PMID: 21167918.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 15     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    34. Orphan receptor tyrosine kinase ROR2 as a potential therapeutic target for osteosarcoma. Cancer Sci. 2009 Jul; 100(7):1227-33. Morioka K, Tanikawa C, Ochi K, Daigo Y, Katagiri T, Kawano H, Kawaguchi H, Myoui A, Yoshikawa H, Naka N, Araki N, Kudawara I, Ieguchi M, Nakamura K, Nakamura Y, Matsuda K. PMID: 19486338; PMCID: PMC11158182.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 49     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
    35. Two cases of pulmonary embolism which occurred during conservative treatment after rupture of the Achilles tendon. Orthop. Surg. Traumatol. 2003; 6(46):789-792. Hodohara M, Asai J, Ando T, Hayashi H, Morioka K. View Publication.
    36. Transient osteoporosis of the hip complicated by femoral neck fracture: A case report. Kanto Journal of Orthopedics and Traumatology. 2001; 6(32):379-382. Morioka K, Takatori Y, Nagai I, Kuruta Y, Okazaki H, Goto T. View Publication.
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