Our Targets

How are our bodies created from atoms and molecules? We systematically investigate how the atoms and building blocks of biopolymers (nucleic acids and proteins) participate in biological phenomena, introducing synthetic chemistry-based ideas into biological and genetic studies. Research in our group is concerned with diverse aspects of the design and function of biopolymers on an atomic scale. The focus is on the design, synthesis and physical properties of new, man-made biopolymers with various special functions. Also included is the design of unprecedented organic chemical systems for recognizing, transforming and visualizing a single component or atom in biopolymers of interest. These researches are the fundamental studies reflecting the essence of life science on an atomic scale and the material-developing studies to get useful functional materials for the latest studies on life sciences and medical technologies. The lab employs a multidisciplinary approach involving organic synthesis, photophysical chemistry, state-of-the-art spectroscopy, and biological assays to address new approaches to the interface between synthetic chemistry and life science. Current projects include:

1. Synthesis of ‘superbiopolymers’ containing functional nucleotides and amino acids for elucidation of gene expression function.
2. Construction of new chemical platforms for collecting specific cells and analyzing cell-cell interactions at the single cell level.
3. Drug design, cell introduction, and functional analysis based on new chemical ideas.
4. Chemical exploration of ‘proto-nucleic acids’ under prebiotic conditions.

Research Category List

How to join us

Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology (MS/PhD integrated program)

To enroll in the Graduate School of Engineering as a graduate student, you are required to successfully pass an entrance examination.
See the website of the Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology.

http://www.chembio.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp/e/exam.html

Okamoto laboratory strongly encourages you to take the exam of the MS/PhD integrated program. First of all, please contact Okamoto after checking Okamoto’s papers.

Department of Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies (PhD course, no course for master degree)

The course provides mid-career persons with the opportunity to carry out doctoral studies in the university environment. Before requesting application forms, you are advised to contact the department office and inquire whether you can find an appropriate supervisor. If you want to join the Okamoto laboratory, then you also contact Okamoto by e-mail.
See the website of the Graduate School of Engineering, the University of Tokyo

https://www.rcast.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/index.html

Application for PostDoc position

1. Contact Okamoto by e-mail
   Contact Okamoto by an email with your CV. If there are some openings in the lab, you would receive an email for the next process.
2. Apply to the postdoctoral fellowship programs of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Contact Okamoto by an email with your CV before preparing the application form. You can find some information on the JSPS postdoctoral fellowship for foreign researchers in the

http://www.jsps.go.jp/english/e-fellow/index.html

Members

Akimitsu Okamoto
Professor

Kunihiko Morihiro
Associate Professor
●

Takafumi Furuhata
Assistant Professor
●

Yuki Umeda
DC●

Yijing Lin
DC●‡

Yuyuan Chen
DC●

Taiki Uno
DC●‡■

Xueyang Li
DC●‡■

Xuanyu Liao
DC●‡

Yunsong Xu
DC●‡

Yukio Hirase
DC●

Zihao Wang
DC●‡¶

Sijie Li
DC●

Soshu Yasuda
DC●‡¶■

Ryotaro Yamamoto
DC●■

Manami Baba
M2●

Naoki Harada
M2●

Jotaro Miyamoto
M2●

Bumkyu Choi
M2●‡

Xiping Wang
M2●

Tamako Aiba
M1●

Shuichiro Koga
M1●

Ryota Shinohara
M1●

Chiharu Moriyama
M1●

Hiroki Oiwa
B4●

Aoba Okuta
B4●

Tento Sugiura
B4●

Kei Fujita
B4●

Keisuke Horikoshi
B4●

Moeko Yamada
B4●

Chie Shishido
Secretary

Eriko Yamada
Technical Staff

Mizue Yuuki
Technical Staff

●Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology / ●Department of Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies / JSPS Research Fellowship for Young Scientists / ■Spring-GX / ¶MERIT-WINGS / ‡Integrated MS/PhD Program (Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology) / ◆JICA－Friendship Project

Current members & Alumni (in Japanese)

Class Information

講義「基礎機能化学II」（3775-105）担当：岡本 晃充　教授
講義資料：

Course: Basics for Functional Chemistry II（3775-105）Professor Akimitsu OKAMOTO
Handouts: 

講義「生命化学演習」（FEN-CB3m07S1）担当：長尾 翌手可　講師
講義資料：

バーチャル先端研公開 2020
DNAオリガミ(小)折り方
DNAオリガミ(小)型紙

Links