| Job title | 
				
					Professor				 | 
			
						
				| Laboratory | 
				
					Laboratory of Structural Physiology(Cellular and Structural Physiology Institute)				 | 
			
						
				| Room | 
				
					Pharmaceutical Sciences Building, Room 208				 | 
			
						
				| Outside line | 
				
					+81-52-747-6837				 | 
			
						
				| Fields of research | 
				
					Structural Biology, Gap junction channel, Electron Microscopy				 | 
			
					
				
		
	 
	
		
Outline of research
		Most multicellular organisms, such as vertebrates and invertebrates, possess gap junctions comprising clusters of channels that mediate the direct communication between adjacent cells. High-resolution structures of gap junction channels are investigated using cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) to elucidate the molecular basis of the gating mechanism and the biologic significance in vivo. We are also focusing on optimizing the sample preparation for cryo-EM, such as the nanodisc reconstruction method for structural analysis of membrane proteins in lipid bilayer.