RESEARCH

Cooperative Research Facility Division

Purpose / Contents

Support and core facility for glycoscience research

The Cooperative Research Facility Division in the integrated Glyco-Molecular Science Research Center (iGMOL) engages in providing various research tools, equipment, and know-how. For instance, the division offers the generation of gene-engineered mice, microarray analysis, DNA sequencing, and electron microscopic analysis.

Members List

Kaori Tanaka

Division headCooperative Research Facility Division

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Research interests
Infectious disease, clinical bacteria, anaerobic bacteria
Research subject
Our research focuses on the clinical bacteriology of commensal anaerobic bacteria which constitute the major endogenous flora of humans and animals. Endogenous infections involving commensal species are often mixed infections with facultative anaerobes, forming a pathogroup. The major Gram-negative rods tend to be multidrug-resistant and are thought to contribute directly or indirectly to the pathogenesis of the disease, but many aspects of the pathogenesis remain unresolved. This is an obstacle to appropriate clinical testing and chemotherapy. Epidemiologic studies of isolates and these drug resistances are examined, as well as the pathogenic significance of the biased anaerobes.

Hideki Nikami

Cooperative Research Facility Division

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Research interests
Animal experiment, animal welfare, developmental engineering, brown fat, sugar metabolism
Research subject
Education and development of all aspects of animal experiments (procedures, anesthesia, facility operation, laws and guidelines, animal welfare, etc.). The aim is to develop facility operation methods, animal experiments, and the handling of experimental animals in accordance with international guidelines and national laws.
In addition, we aim to elucidate the sugar metabolism and intracellular mechanisms of obesity and diabetes using genetically modified animals. We particularly focus on brown fat.

Haruhisa Suga

Cooperative Research Facility Division

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Research interests
Pathogenic gene, molecular diagnostics, drug resistance mechanisms, mycotoxins, genetic diversity
Research subject
In recent years, food safety, food shortages on a global scale, and the environmental impact of pesticides have become issues. In order to solve these problems, it is important to properly prevent crop diseases, and in particular, a deep understanding of the properties of pathogenic fungi is required. Our laboratory aims to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of pathogenicity, pesticide resistance, and fungal toxin production, and genomic evolution mechanisms in Fusarium fungi, which are major plant pathogens, toxin-producing fungi, and opportunistic infectious pathogens of humans.

Yuji O. Kamatari

Cooperative Research Facility Division

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Research interests
Biophysics, structural biology, protein science, molecular interaction analysis, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), surface plasmon resonance (SPR), logical drug discovery, neurodegenerative diseases, antibodies, protein expression
Research subject
Using various structural biology and biophysical techniques such as NMR and SPR, we analyze the structures and interaction of proteins and glycans to elucidate the biological phenomena they are involved in. Furthermore, we aim to control them for drug discovery.

Takatsugu Goto

Cooperative Research Facility Division

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Research interests
Anaerobic bacteria, Bacteroides, drug resistance mechanisms, whole genome analysis
Research subject
We are engaged in research on drug resistance mechanisms of Bacteroides (especially Bacteroides fragilis), an anaerobic bacterium commensal to the intestinal tract and sometimes isolated from intra-abdominal infection colonies. In particular, we aim to elucidate the mechanism of carbapenem resistance in this species using comprehensive methods such as whole genome analysis

Shigeo Takashima

Cooperative Research Facility Division

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Research interests
Lipids, fatty acids, adrenoleukodystrophy, peroxisome disease, inherited metabolic disease
Research subject
Our laboratory studies the functional role of fatty acids in individual development and disease, by investigating a human genetic disease (peroxisome disease) in which fatty acid metabolism is impaired. Fatty acids are one of the important biomolecules, and not only as a material for membranes but also play important physiological roles, such as regulating cellular functions and being used as a source of cellular energy. Our bodies contain more than 100 types of fatty acids in different lengths and shapes. We investigate the significance of the existence of these diverse fatty acids and the mechanisms by which their metabolic changes cause various pathological conditions.

Masahiro Hayashi

Cooperative Research Facility Division

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Research interests
Obligate anaerobic bacteria, phylogenetic classification, infectious disease
Research subject
The major focus of our laboratory is on the bacteriology of the obligate anaerobes that comprise the major commensal flora of humans. In recent years, advances in science and technology have led to a restructuring of the bacterial classification system. Our research focuses on drug resistance genes in especially so-called "pathogenic bacteria" that are harmful to humans. We also provide assistance in the identification of bacterial species by genetic approaches to cases from nearby hospitals and other facilities that have difficulty in determining the species of bacteria.

Yuuki Horii

Cooperative Research Facility Division

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Research interests
Physiology, hibernation, hypothermia, experimental animal science, developmental engineering
Research subject
We conduct research focusing on body temperature in humans and animals. Some mammals, such as hamsters, hibernate in an environment such as winter, with significantly low body temperature. While humans are unable to maintain vital functions when their body temperature drops, hibernating animals are not damaged by hypothermia during hibernation. Our research goal is to contribute to human and animal medicine by elucidating biological functions during hibernation and developing ways to utilize the findings.

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