Akiko Shimamoto, MS, PhD

Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Cancer Biology

Dr. Akiko Shimamoto is a neurochemist and behavioral neuroscientist and Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Cancer Biology at Meharry Medical College. Dr. Shimamoto researches the effects of psychosocial stress and biological sex on neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Her work has a special emphasis in understanding AD disease progression in African Americans and understanding the relationship between cancer and AD. 

Dr. Shimamoto completed her doctoral degree in forensic toxicology and instrumental chemistry at Kyushu University in Fukuoka, Japan and a postdoctoral fellowship in neurochemistry, behavioral neuroscience, and psychopharmacology at Tufts University. She joined the Meharry Medical College faculty in 2014.