STAFF
The Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology includes professors, associate professors, a lecturer, assistant professors, technical staff, and administrative staff. Research is carried out in groups led by full-time faculty, as well as in collaborative groups that include faculty from other departments and institutions. Fourth-year undergraduate students and graduate students actively participate in these research activities. In addition, leading researchers from other universities and research institutes are invited as part-time lecturers to cover areas not fully addressed by full-time faculty.
The Master’s Program in the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, part of the Life Science Division of the Graduate School of Science and Engineering, is organized by faculty members from the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology along with collaborating faculty. Students complete two years of study, including lectures, seminars, and a research project, and obtain a master’s degree upon submitting a master’s thesis.
In the Doctoral Program, faculty members from the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology contribute to the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Course within the Life Science Division. After three years of research-focused study, students are required to submit and defend a doctoral dissertation to obtain a doctoral degree (Doctor of Science or Doctor of Academic Studies).
The table below outlines the current research groups and their research themes.
| Research Group | Position | Name | Research Theme |
|---|---|---|---|
| KOTAKE lab | Professor | Toshihisa KOTAKE | Functional analysis of plant cell wall-related genes |
| TAKAHASHI lab | Associate Professor | Daisuke TAKAHASHI | Studies on iomolecules involved in plant cold responses |
| FUJISHIRO lab | Professor | Takashi FUJISHIRO | Structure, function, and biosynthesis of metalloproteins |
| TOZAWA lab | Professor | Yuzuru TOZAWA | Structure and function of membrane transport proteins, regulation of protein synthesis in plants, and nucleic acid metabolism in bacteria and chloroplasts |
| MATSUOKA lab | Associate Professor | Satoshi MATSUOKA | Genetic studies on the synthesis and maintenance of bacterial membrane structures |
| OTSUKA lab | Associate Professor | Yuichi OTSUKA | Survival strategies and gene expression mechanisms of bacteria and bacteriophages |
| YONEYAMA lab | Associate Professor | Kaori YONEYAMA | Biosynthesis and regulation of plant secondary metabolites |
| KORE-EDA lab | Lecturer | Shin KORE-EDA | Molecular biology of photosynthetic carbon metabolism, especially regulation of CAM (Crassulacean Acid Metabolism) |
| NISHIYAMA lab | Professor | Yoshitaka NISHIYAMA | Molecular biology of environmental responses in photosynthesis, redox control of protein synthesis systems |
| Assistant Professor | Haruhiko JIMBO | Regulation of photosynthetic function via lipids and elucidation of carbon metabolism in ecosystems | |
| HIHARA lab | Professor | Yukako HIHARA | Signal transduction and transcriptional regulation during environmental acclimation in cyanobacteria |
| Assistant Professor | Hiroko TAKAHASHI | Mechanisms of photosynthetic environmental responses involving cyclic electron transport | |
| TAKAHASHI lab | Associate Professor | Tomoko TAKAHASHI | Functional analysis of non-coding RNAs in virus-infected cells |
| TOYOTA lab | Professor | Masatsugu TOYOTA | Studies on rapid long-distance signaling in plants and development of new microscopy and imaging techniques |
| Assistant Professor | Hiraku SUDA | Mechanisms of rapid plant responses to mechanical stimuli (thigmonasty) | |
| KAWAI-ISHIKAWA lab | Professor | Maki KAWAI | Studies on energy metabolism, photosynthesis, and stress tolerance in plants |
| Associate Professor | Toshiki ISHIKAWA | Metabolism and membrane function of plant-type sphingolipids, and their molecular evolution | |
| JST ERATO Toyota Plant Sensing Project | Professor | Masayoshi NAKAMURA | Plant morphogenesis and cytoskeleton, visualization of biomolecular dynamics and development of metabolic regulation tool |
| Associate Professor | Kazuo EBINE | Elucidation of plant cellular functions centered on membrane trafficking | |
| Associate Professor | Hironori TAKEDA | Structural biology of membrane proteins | |
| Associate Professor | Satoshi OGAWA | Molecular mechanisms of plant responses to external signals | |
| RIKEN | Collaborating Professor | Naoshi DOHMAE | Structural analysis of proteins including post-translational modifications |
| Collaborating Professor | Shunji TAKAHASHI | Conversion from genetic resources to chemical resources | | |
| Collaborating Professor | Tadashi SUZUKI | Biology of cytoplasmic PNGase: physiological function and molecular evolution, and the significance of non-lysosomal metabolism of free N-glycans | |
| Collaborating Professor | Motoaki SEKI | Plant stress response mechanisms, cassava tuber formation, and creation of useful stress-tolerant plants | |
| Collaborating Professor | Rikiya WATANABE | Single-molecule biophysics of membrane proteins and development of digital liquid biopsy technology | |
| Collaborating Professor | Shinya HAGIHARA | Plant chemical biology | |
| National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology | Collaborating Professor | Shingo SAKAMOTO | Fundamental and applied research for the improvement of plant biomass |