[Life and Chemistry] Life and Chemistry

Strategic Objective

Development of core technology platforms for understanding spatiotemporal multicellular interaction

Establishing Technologies for Genome-scale DNA Synthesis and Functional Expression, and Creating Technology Seeds for Material Production and Medical Care

Creating Innovative Reaction Technologies for Establishing New Production Processes for Realizing a Sustainable Society

Establishment of environmentally-adaptive-plant design systems for stable food supply in the age of climate change

Research Supervisor

Mikiko Sodeoka (Deputy Director, Center for Sustainable Resource Science, RIKEN)

Overview

　Recently, the expectation of the technology for elucidating and applying life phenomena by directing attention to various biomolecules has been increasing as a technology to contribute to a wide range of fields including the formation of a healthy society with long-lived people, a stable supply of food, and the development of industries that use living things. To correspond to such expectation, it is essential to support and develop various young researchers who have unique ideas from the viewpoint of integration of “life and chemistry” and contribute to the next generation.

　In this research area, we promote the research that leads to the creation of new values while supporting the young researchers who contribute to the future through research in the field of “life and chemistry.” Specifically, we call for challenging research concepts based on new ideas in a wide range of specialized fields including the research in the field of biology to understand life phenomena from the viewpoint of biomolecules and the research that elucidates, controls, and applies life phenomena by using chemical methods.

　To promote research, we, placing importance on the viewpoint of the development of human resources, provide opportunities in which young researchers communicate and mutually stimulate each other; thus, we aim to construct a human network of researchers, which may result in the development of human resources in the research that advance the research to contribute to the future and in future cooperation.

Research Area Advisors

Tadao Asami	Professor Emeritus, The University of Tokyo
Midori A. Arai	Professor, Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University
Motonari Uesugi	Professor, Institute for Chemical Research, Kyoto University
Yasuteru Urano	Professor, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, and of Medicine, The University of Tokyo
Keiko Shimamoto	Manager, Bioorganic Research Institute, Suntory foundation for Life Sciences
Naoki Sugimoto	Distinguished Professor, Frontier Institute for Biomolecular Engineering Research, Konan University
Rami Suzuki	President & Representative Director, National Cancer Centre Venture ARC Therapies Inc. / Operating Partner, ARCHIMED GROUP
Atsuko Sehara	Professor Emeritus, Institute for Frontier Life and Medical Sciences, Kyoto University
Haruko Takeyama	Professor, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Waseda University
Taisuke Tomita	Professor, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Tokyo
Hideko Nagasawa	Professor Emeritus & Specially Appointed Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Science, Gifu Pharmaceutical University
Makoto Nishiyama	Professor, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo
Kiyoko Fukami	Professor Emeritus & Visiting Professor, Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Science