The field of biology has expanded from the traditional approaches of focusing on specific organisms and phenomena to utilizing data science approaches in the pursuit of obtaining a comprehensive understanding of life. Under this context, Iwasaki Laboratory at the University of Tokyo employs interdisciplinary approaches, including but not limited to: bioinformatics, laboratory experiments, mathematics, and field samplings to study evolution and ecology of diverse life forms, and to develop novel biotechnological methods.
Research Keywords and Topics
- Evolutionary and ecological bioinformatics
- Evolution of genomes and life systems
- Microbial dark matter, non-model organisms
- Microbial ecology, metagenomics
- Environmental DNA
In particular, we are aiming at the following fundamental research questions:
(1) How have the elaborate and complex living systems evolved?
(2) How are the ecosystems stably maintained?
(3) What unknown gene functions have evolved in 4 billion years?
(4) What is the methodology to reveal unknown gene functions from big data?
(5) How many genes are being born on the earth?
Wataru IWASAKI, Ph.D. [ WebPage]
Professor |
|
Motomu MATSUI, Ph.D. [ WebPage]
Project Research Associate |
Salvatore COSENTINO, Ph.D. [ WebPage]
Project Research Associate |
Takao K. SUZUKI, Ph.D.
Project Research Associate |
Yuki NISHIMURA, Ph.D.
Research Associate |
Hiroshi AKASHI, Ph.D. [ WebPage]
Project Research Associate |
Mizue ANDA, Ph.D. [ WebPage]
Project Research Associate |
Eric C. H. CHEN, Ph.D. [ WebPage]
Project Researcher |
Kimiho OMAE, Ph.D. [ WebPage]
Project Researcher |
Kento TOMINAGA, Ph.D. [ WebPage]
Project Researcher |
Keita MIYAKE, Ph.D.
JSPS Research Fellow |
Tao ZHU, Ph.D. [ WebPage]
Project Researcher |
Naohisa WADA, Ph.D. [ WebPage]
Project Researcher |
Sungjin KAWAI, Ph.D.
Visiting Researcher |
Kanae SAKAI, Ph.D.
Visiting Researcher |
Fumino MARUO, Ph.D.
Visiting Researcher |
Seishiro AOKI, Ph.D.
Visiting Researcher |
Kaori MOTOKI [ WebPage]
Project Academic Specialist |
Miharu ENDO
Project Academic Specialist |
Emiko U. MAKI
Project Academic Specialist |
|
Ken KUROKI [ WebPage]
Ph.D. Candidate |
Yuichiro OZAKI
Ph.D. Candidate |
Shun YAMANOUCHI
Ph.D. Candidate (JSPS Research Fellow) |
Shoma MATSUSHITA
Ph.D. Candidate |
Jiwei YANG
Ph.D. Candidate (JSPS Research Fellow) |
Tomoya NISHIGUCHI
Ph.D. Candidate (JSPS Research Fellow) |
Naoki KONNO [ WebPage]
Ph.D. Candidate (JSPS Research Fellow) |
Keito WATANO
Ph.D. Candidate (SPRING-GX Student) |
Makoto ITO
Ph.D. Candidate (WINGS-PES Student) |
Kazuki MIYATA
Ph.D. Candidate |
Yuxiang HUANG [ WebPage]
Ph.D. Candidate (WINGS-LST Student) |
Yuna NAKAGAWA
Ph.D. Candidate (SPRING-GX Student) |
Yugo TSUNODA
Ph.D. Candidate (SPRING-GX Student) |
Siqi LI
Visiting Graduate Student (from Ocean Univ China) |
Yibang WANG
International Adjunct Researcher (from IOCAS) |
|
Ayaka ISHIGURO
Graduate Student |
Masaki FUJIYOSHI
Graduate Student (WINGS-PES Student) |
Yoichiro ISHII
Graduate Student |
Shumpei TAKEUCHI
Graduate Student (WINGS-SA Student) |
Satoshi NISHINO
Graduate Student |
Shiina IDE
Graduate Student |
Seiji TOKI
Graduate Student |
Fei XIA
Graduate Student |
Kosho ASAGA
Graduate Student |
Koki KAMADA
Graduate Student |
Kota TSUCHIDA
Graduate Student |
Masamitsu YASUTAKE
Graduate Student (IIW Student) |
Kiyoshi ISHIDA
Undergraduate Student |
Rintaro NIIMI
Undergraduate Student |
Ryuichi ONO
Undergraduate Student |
Kota HOMMA
Undergraduate Student |
Tatsuki TABUCHI
Undergraduate Student |
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Joining Our Lab as a Graduate Student
We are accepting graduate students as faculty of the following departments at the University of Tokyo. Whereas they have different systems of lectures, degrees, and scholarships, students of both departments spend laboratory life similarly.
We highly welcome those who majored in bioinformatics and/or were involved in research projects related to bioinformatics during their undergraduate or master courses, and aim at earning a Ph.D by pursuing the research goals described above. If you are interested in joining our lab, please examine our publication list and email the Principal Investigator.
Notes: We have experience in accepting students from outside of Japan. Japanese language is not mandatory if you have enough English skills; however, a will to learn Japanese would be necessary because it makes you enjoy Japan more, and many optional classes are held in Japanese. As the University of Tokyo provides Japanese language classes, we usually encourage colleagues from abroad to take them. Also, we highly encourage international students to obtain scholarships because of financial support and credit for life in Japan (Also refer to the information provided by UTokyo International Education Support Office and Japan Student Services Organization). The best one would be Japanese Government Scholarship (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (Monbukagakusho or MEXT) Scholarship). Please consult with your local Japan Embassy for the selection information. In addition, International Student Handbook and Information for Prospective Students are available at UTokyo website. Last but not least, the living cost near our laboratory on the UTokyo Kashiwa campus is much cheaper (single room rent is around 50,000 JPY per month) than that in the center of Tokyo, and many students stay at lodgings near the campus.
Joining Our Lab as a Postdoctoral Fellow
If you are interested in pursuing the research goals described above in our laboratory, please examine our publication list and email the Principal Investigator. Information on our post-doc position availability may be posted in JREC-IN Portal, or we might have an open position even if there is no posted information. In addition, we may help you obtain fellowships such as Postdoctoral Fellowships for Research in Japan, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science and Human Frontier Science Program Postdoctoral Fellowships.
Notes: We have experience in accepting Postdoctoral Fellows from outside of Japan. Japanese language is not mandatory if you have enough English skills; however, to enjoy life in Japan, a will to learn Japanese to some extent would be necessary. As the University of Tokyo provides Japanese language classes, we usually encourage colleagues from abroad to take them. For more information about life on the Kashiwa Campus, please also refer to the website of International Liaison Office at the Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, UTokyo.
Software and Databases
Our laboratory is developing bioinformatic software and databases such as:
- MitoFish & MitoAnnotator: Fish mitochondrial genome database and annotator
- MiFish Pipeline: Pipeline for analyzing fish environmental DNA data
- SonicParanoid: Fast, accurate, and easy-to-use software tool for the identification of orthologs
- EvoDictor: Software for predicting genome evolution by gene gains and losses
- Graph Splitting: Phylogenetic tree reconstruction without multiple sequence alignment
- ProkAtlas: Inference of habitat environment of prokaryotes from 16S rRNA gene sequences
- AlphaCutter: AlphaCutter efficiently removes non-globular regions from predicted protein structures
- Fern Tree of Life: An updated and comprehensive phylogenetic tree of ferns
- canaper: R package for categorical analysis of neo- and paleo-endemism (CANAPE) in spatial phylogenetics
- Logicome Profiler: Exhaustive detection of triplet logic relationships from a binary matrix dataset
- Mirage: Estimation of gene-content evolution based on gene-family diversity
- Inverse Potts Model: Phylogenetic profiling by considering phylogenetic constraints
- Flipping t-ratio Test: Robust statistical test of Pareto theory of phenotype evolution
- MetaMetaDB: Inference of habitat environment of prokaryotes from 16S rRNA gene sequences
- GroupTracker: Multiple animal tracking system
- MOCCS: Software to find all significant DNA-binding motifs based on ChIP-Seq data
- Image Manipulation Detector: Software for automatically detecting manipulated images in life science
For other software and databases, refer to Wataru Iwasaki's Webpage.
Address and Access
[Address]
#601 Iwasaki Lab, Bioscience Bldg, the University of Tokyo, 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-0882, JAPAN
[Access]
Getting to the Kashiwa Campus (PDF) (Bioscience Building is "7")
Google Maps (Bioscience Building, Kashiwa Campus, UTokyo)
Our laboratory is located on the 6th floor (#601) of Bioscience Building on the Kashiwa Campus of the University of Tokyo.
Please note that the entrance of Bioscience Building is only on the east side you see in the photo above.
[Tips]
If you use Tobu bus, please get off at either UTokyo-Front (東大前, Todai-mae) or UTokyo-West (東大西, Todai-nishi) Stop.
If you use UTokyo shuttle bus from Kashiwanoha-campus Station, please get off at the second stop (Environmental Studies Bldg (環境棟前, Kankyoutou-mae) Stop).
If you take a taxi from Kashiwanoha-campus Station, it will take less than 10 minutes and cost about 1,000 JPY.
Highway bus is also available from Haneda Airport and Narita Airport to National Cancer Center East Hospital (国立がん研究センター, Kokuritsu-Gan-Kenkyu Center) Stop, which is just next to the Kashiwa Campus, or Kashiwanoha-campus Station.
Photos of Our Campus and Laboratory
You can see photos and learn about life on the Kashiwa Campus via the following pages of Department of Integrated Biosciences:
Environment and facilities on the Kashiwa Campus
Restaurants on the Kashiwa Campus
The followings are laboratory photos.
Bioinformatics Laboratory
Computing Server and Experimental Laboratory
Bookshelf
Laboratory Life 1
Laboratory Life 2
Graduation
