Research Overview

The diverse functions and homeostasis maintenance of cells and tissues are supported by dynamic communication between internal single molecules and organelles. Organelles have been thought to be separated by lipid membranes, as represented by cell nuclei and mitochondria. However, in recent years, many organelles and molecular assemblies that do not have lipid membranes driven by phase separation have been found, and there is growing evidence that they are involved in important biological functions and diseases.

At the present day when the standpoints for cells themselves are drastically changing, we use approaches that are not bound by the framework of the field of cell biology, e.g. optogenetics, soft matter physics, machine learning, and high spatiotemporal resolution imaging, to elucidate the physical mechanism that molecular assemblies spontaneously form, and the underlying mechanism behind their biological functions and diseases.

Furthermore, integrating the obtained cutting-edge knowledge and technologies regarding intracellular phase separation with iPS cell technologies, we will work for uncovering the basic mechanism of cell reprogramming and develop new technologies for therapeutic applications to open up new frontiers in life science.