People

2018 March

Arata Furukawa, PhD

(Research Fellowship for Young Scientists (DC1), JSPS)

• Doctoral thesis：Structure-based working models of protein transport mediated by YidC and SecDF
• Main original papers：Furukawa et al, Structure 26, 485–489 (2018); Furukawa et al., Cell Rep. 19, 895-901 (2017); Kumazaki, Chiba, Takemoto, Furukawa et al., Nature 509, 516-520 (2014); Kumazaki, Kishimoto, Furukawa et al., Sci. Rep. 4, 7299 (2014).
• Comment：I managed to get a doctoral degree. I will do my best in the future as well.
• Awards：Yano Prize (NAIST GSBS, 2015), Inoue Research Award for Young Scientists (Inoue Foundation for Science All Rights Reserved, 2018)
• Lab Stay : 2016. Feb. - Mar.,  Baldwin Lab (UC Davis)

2018 March

Yasunori Sugano, PhD

(Research Fellowship for Young Scientists (DC2), JSPS)

• Doctoral thesis：Static and dynamic structural basis of protein-conducting channel Sec translocon
• Main original papers：Sugano et al., PLOS ONE 12, e0183434 (2017); Tanaka*, Sugano* et al., Cell Rep. 13, 1561-1568 (2015); Haruyama*, Sugano* et al., Structure 27, 152-160 (2019). (*equal contribution)
• Awards：NAIST Best Student Award (NAIST / Foundation for NAIST, 2015 and 2018)，Poster Award (PSSJ, 2016)
• Studying abroad：2016. Jan.-Feb., NAIST Material and Biological Sciences Program (UC DAVIS EXTENSION), UC Davis

2020 March

Shigehiro Iwaki, PhD

• Doctoral thesis：Structural basis of plant MATE family
• Main original papers：Tanaka*, Iwaki* and Tsukazaki, Structure 25, 1455-1460 (2017); Tanaka*, Iwaki*, Sasaki A and Tsukazaki T. FEBS Letters 595, 1902-1913 (2021) *equal contribution
• Lab Stay : 2015. Sep.-Oct., Wackett Lab (University of Minnesota), 2018. Feb.-Mar. Theg Lab（UC Davis）

2021 March

Bin Mohammad Umar Mohammad Shahrizal, PhD

• Doctoral thesis：Crystal structure of β-Barrel Assembly-Enhancing Protease (BepA) for biogenesis of outer membrane proteins

• Comment：I am glad to complete my PhD study at the Laboratory of Structural Life Sciences by Prof. Tsukazaki. I would like to thank Prof. Tsukazaki in accepting me to do PhD at his laboratory. I have learned a lot, especially about bacterial protein purification and structural analysis. Under Prof. Tsukazaki's supervision, I have produced my first ever first-author paper in a peer-reviewed journal. The best thing about this lab is that I am able to learn from my mistakes. I also made friends with lab members, with whom I could practice Japanese with. I wish this lab all the best and I will continue using my knowledge and experience gained from this laboratory for my future endeavours.

• Main original papers：Shahrizal et al., J. Mol. Biol. 431, 625-635 (2019)
• Lab Stay：2019. Jan.-Feb., Baldwin Lab (UC Davis)

2024 March

Mai Ikei, PhD

(NAIST University Fellowships for the Creation of Innovation in Science and Technology)

• Doctoral thesis：Structure and function of a YeeE-YeeD complex for sophisticated thiosulfate uptake

Comment：I joined Tsukazaki lab as a doctoral course student with no structural knowledge, but thanks to Tsukazaki-sensei, assistant professors, and the lab members, I enjoyed my research life. I think Tsukazaki lab is a perfect environment for research, and I recommend this lab to those aiming for a PhD degree supervised by Tsukazaki-sensei.

• Main original papers：Ikei et al., PLOS Biol. 22, e3002601 (2024)

2025 March

Napathip Lertpreedakorn, PhD

• Doctoral thesis：Interactions between Lipid II flippase and a toxic peptide that affects bacterial peptidoglycan biosynthesis

Comment：As a student passionate about protein research, I decided to join Tsukazaki’s lab. My time in the lab has been a truly enjoyable experience, where I’ve had the chance to work intensively with membrane proteins. It has been an honor to refine my molecular skills in protein research. Additionally, I’ve had the excellent opportunity to expand my knowledge of basic protein structure. I would like to thank Tsukazaki-sensei, Kohga-san, Miyazaki-san, Abe-san, and all the lab members for their support. If you're looking for a great opportunity to learn intensively about bacterial membrane proteins and protein structures, this lab is the perfect choice.

• Main original papers：Kohga, Lertpreedakorn et al., bioRxiv. (2024)