Prof. TSUKAZAKI Tomoya
Please tell us about your own research and what you find interesting about it.
Numerous proteins work in living organisms, but detailed atomic-level structures are necessary to understand their functions. We have been working on the structural analysis of proteins whose detailed structures have not yet been reported. In our research process, we can be the first in the world to know the detailed structure of the proteins. It’s most interesting when we see a structure that no one knows and we begin to consider how it works.
Please tell us about the difficulties and joys of the research field.
We need to purify stable proteins to examine protein structures and functions. To do these, we have to try many experimental conditions, which is the hardest part. However, after overcoming these difficulties, we can elucidate some protein structures for the first time and clarify life phenomena one by one at the molecular level. Finally, publishing our research would be the most exciting.
Please tell us about the expected results and social significance of the project.
We are conducting on revealing biological phenomena from protein structural analysis. To put it simply, our research is such that it will be published in textbooks and technical books. It’s a great pleasure for us that our study is introduced in these books with figures, and in this way, we can share new knowledge with society.
A message of support for students who are about to take the exam
There are various laboratories in NAIST. I am sure you can find a suitable laboratory. Please take a look at the research contents on the website and visit the open campus.
What websites, books, review articles, and so on, do you recommend for studying in order to apply for the lab ?
- Introduction to Proteins: Structure, Function, and Motion, Second Edition (Chapman & Hall/CRC Computational Biology Series)
What do you do to keep yourself fresh?
Training.