People

Dr. Kevin Wakeman, PhD (PI)

I started out in marine biology by incidentally taking a SCUBA diving course (ca. 2006) as an undergrad. Fifteen years on, I am still diving. I now work at in the Faculty of Science Hokkaido University.

Education: PhD, Zoology University of British Columbia (2013); BSc, Biology Humboldt State University (2009); BA, German, Humboldt State University (2009)

Current Position: Assistant Professor, Institute for the Advancement of Higher Education, Hokkaido University, Japan

Contact: wakeman@sci.hokudai.ac.jp

Current Lab Members

Dr. Aika Yamaguchi

Position: JSPS RPD Postdoctoral Fellow

Research Project: Marine Benthic Dinoflagellates

About Aika: Aika is currently a JSPS RPD postdoctoral fellow. She is working on the diversity of benthic dinoflagellates in Japan with a specific focus on lineages living in northern Japan (Hokkaido).

Education: Phd Biology, Hokkaido University, Hokkaido, Japan

Dr. Anders Alfjorden

Position: JSPS Postdoctoral Fellow

Research Project: Alveolates in Japanese scallops

About Anders: Anders is a postdoctoral fellow from Sweden. He is currently conducting a JSPS fellowship looking at alveolate parasites in Japanese scallops in Hokkaido.

Education: Phd Biology, Uppsala University, Sweden

Siratee Riewluang (Everyone calls him ‘P’)

Position: PhD Student

Research Project: Microalgal symbionts of marine acoels

About P: P was an ISP undergraduate and masters student in the Wakeman Lab. He worked on the biodiversity of microalgae (Tetraselmis and Symbiodiniaceae) that associate with marine acoels. He is currently a PhD in the lab and is continuing this work on acoels.

Education: BS and MSc Biology, Hokkaido University, Hokkaido, Japan

Yusuke Iwaki

Position: PhD Student

Research Project: Microorganisms associated with seagrass wasting disease

About Yusuke: Yusuke is a PhD student with Prof. Nakaoka at the Akkeshi Marine Lab in Hokkaido. He is stationed in Sapporo in our lab where is studying about the microorganisms associated with seagrass wasting disease.

Education: MSc Biology, University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa, Japan

Natalia Araña

Position: Masters Student

Research Project: Labyrinthulid and apicomplexan biodiversity

About Talia: Talia has been in the lab since her ISP undergraduate graduation project. For her undergraduate thesis, she isolated and cultivated Labyrinthula from Mangroves in Okinawa (southern Japan). For her Masters, she is working on apicomplexan parasites of marine invertebrates.

Education: BS Biology, Hokkaido University, Japan

Elina Raffin

Position: Visiting Undergraduate

Research Project: Labyrinthulids associated with brown algae

About Elina: Elina is a visiting undergrad from Ireland. She is staying in our lab for Summer 2026 to work on parasites of brown algae around Hokkaido.