[1] Sakaguchi earned his bachelor's and doctoral degrees in biology from the University at Albany, SUNY, then pursued postdoctoral research at the University of California, San Diego.
[2][3] He joined the Iowa State University faculty in 1991.
[3] In 2018, Sakaguchi was appointed to a Morrill Professorship.
[4][5] Two years later, he was named director of undergraduate programs for biology and genetics.
[3] In 2023, Sakaguchi served on the search committee convened after Beate Schmittmann announced her retirement as dean of the Iowa State University College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.