Dr. Yanagisawa received her MD from the School of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Japan in 1986 and her Ph.D. in 1993. After completing a residency in Internal Medicine, she moved to the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and worked in the laboratories of Dr. Robert Hammer and Dr. Eric Olson. In 2003, she was appointed as Assistant Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in 2011. In 2014, she was appointed as Professor of the TARA Center, University of Tsukuba and relocated Dallas Lab to Tsukuba Science City in September of 2015. 

Her research focuses on the interaction between cells and extracellular environments, which is a dynamic process that takes place in a temporospatial fashion. She has been particularly interested in the extracellular matrix, a major component of extracellular environments, in blood vessels, skin, kidneys, and reproductive organs. Currently, she is investigating the molecular mechanisms regarding how cells respond to alterations in the extracellular environment, including aging and disease conditions; she is supported by two group leaders with expertise in vascular biology and skin stem cell biology. She also collaborates with research groups working on label-free imaging techniques, bioengineering and glycotechnology. 

She has been involved in the women faculty networking, promotion of diversity and woman leadership as well as development of the research community to facilitate intra-campus and external collaborations. She currently serves as a mentor faculty member in the Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences Majors of Medical Sciences, Ph.D. Program in Human Biology, and Ph.D. Program in Humanics.  

Based on her own experience as a trainee and PI in the U.S. research institution for more than 20 years, she runs her laboratory to train the independent researcher with 4Cs (Challenging, Creative, Consistent, and Collegial). He/she will be the one who can find the most exciting question and come up with a strategy to find the answer.