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Mission


 

The human body is composed of approximately 37 trillion cells. In the living body, all cells work in harmony via cell-to-cell communication rather than acting individually. For example, a group of cells can act as “commanders” and secrete growth factors and hormones to stimulate themselves or neighboring cells or another group of cells elsewhere in the body. The stimulation of target cells activates signaling pathways within those cells that regulate their growth/division and functions.

 

Our group has focused on the intracellular signals of growth factors and their molecular mechanisms. Growth factor signaling is mediated and modulated by various proteins. For example, our research has revealed that a small protein, called ubiquitin, is involved in growth factor signaling in multiple ways. First, ubiquitin binds covalently to different signal mediator proteins in a process called ubiquitination. Second, this process serves as a marker for the ubiquitin-bound protein to change depending on what it is used for; it changes its amount and activity, forms a complex with other proteins, or moves to different locations within the cell. All of them contribute to the regulation of growth factor signaling.

 

Masayuki Komada, PhD


Looking closely at the molecular mechanisms that we have revealed, it is clear that our bodies are flexible enough to adapt to various external environments and robust enough not to be affected by minor abnormalities in our internal systems. These findings also give us a glimpse of how human cells have evolved. The surprises, excitement, and sense of achievement that such discoveries bring are rewards in scientific research. Although this kind of research is positioned as basic research and will not be immediately helpful to society, the results have universal value. They contribute to further studies on the topic, and each piece of information acquired fits like a jigsaw puzzle to solve the bigger picture. Therefore, science is shared by and benefits all of humanity, not just the discoverers. I hope that young students will enjoy the discoveries before them and share a sense of accomplishment in contributing to the development of the culture of science.

 

Abnormalities in growth factor signaling or in the molecular machinery that receives these signals cause many diseases. We are trying to understand these abnormalities at the molecular level to understand how diseases form and progress and propose new strategies for developing drugs to treat them. For example, we have recently discovered that a genetic mutation in a protein studied for many years causes Cushing’s disease, a severe condition that is currently incurable. This protein is essential for the regulation of growth factor signaling, but genetic mutations alter its function. We are now clarifying the mechanisms that cause this hard-to-control disease. We have also started research to develop the world’s first therapeutic drug to target the disease’s molecular mechanism. Thus, we are working with a sense of mission to turn our basic research results into actual benefits for people suffering from diseases.

 

We conduct research using various methods, including cell-free systems, cell culture systems, and genetically modified mice. We are looking for master’s and doctoral students who are interested in the following two areas:

(1) Basic research on the functions of human cells

(2) Translational research to apply our findings to drug discovery

We are committed to helping our students acquire scientific ideas and problem-solving skills through our research activities. Some recent graduates and postgraduates have gone on to work in scientific and academic institutions (e.g., U.S. National Institutes of Health, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Clinical Medicine, Rikkyo University, etc.). The others have gone on to work in private companies in various industrial areas, such as pharmaceutics, biotechnology, cosmetics, and telecommunications.

 

The contact person for students is Assistant Professor Fukushima. If you would like to talk to him to find out more details or to visit Komada laboratory, please do not hesitate to contact him at any time (tofu [at] bio.titech.ac.jp). For the graduate school entrance examination, please take the School of Life Science and Technology entrance examination. For more information, please refer to the admission guidelines of the School of Life Science and Technology.