LAB LOGA page on LabLog, a review site (not the lab's official page)
Molecular Creation Lab
Machine-translated · View original
A lab that explores the mechanisms of signal transduction through the three-dimensional structures of proteins.
AboutAbout the lab
Understanding how proteins work, and creating new ones.
The Molecular Creation Lab studies molecules involved in cell signal transduction (extracellular ligands and their receptors) to clarify what is working and how it works.
Broadly, the lab belongs to structural biology, and it studies a wide range of phenomena, from neuroscience and development to immunology, without limiting itself to specific molecules or phenomena.
Using three-dimensional structures, the lab also modifies and improves natural proteins, and conducts research that leads to the development of artificial proteins (biopharmaceuticals) useful for preventing and treating disease.
The lab places importance on producing high-quality recombinant proteins as research materials, using animal cell expression systems and its own purification techniques.
Key terms
- Structural biology
- A field that studies how proteins work, based on their three-dimensional structures
- Signal transduction
- The mechanism by which a molecule outside the cell (a ligand) binds to a receptor and conveys information to the cell
- Integrin
- A receptor that mediates cell adhesion to the extracellular matrix and to other cells
NewsLab news
A paper from collaborative research with Tohoku University, Ono Pharmaceutical, and others has been published in Cell Stem Cell
A paper from collaborative research with the Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University has been published in Nature Cancer
A paper on a cancer-specific anti-HER2 antibody has been published in Structure
ResearchResearch themes
The lab aims to contribute to understanding the mechanisms of life and overcoming disease, with the three-dimensional structures of proteins at the center of its work. It investigates the structures and functions of molecules involved in signal transduction, and also develops artificial proteins that make use of three-dimensional structures.
*Illustrative imageSemaphorin signal transduction
Semaphorins are a group of molecules involved in neural circuit formation, bone metabolism, angiogenesis, cancer progression, immunity, and more. The lab aims to clarify how semaphorins activate their receptors and transmit signals.
*Illustrative imageThe Wnt signaling pathway
The Wnt signaling pathway regulates cellular responses such as cell proliferation, development, differentiation, and cell death. The lab solved the problem that Wnt proteins are "insoluble in water," and became the first in the world to determine the three-dimensional structure of a mammalian Wnt-Frizzled complex.
*Illustrative imageIntegrins, cell adhesion molecules
Integrins are the receptors that cells use to adhere to the extracellular matrix and to other cells. The lab has assembled a collection of high-quality recombinant integrins, and aims to understand their structures and the specificity of ligand recognition at the atomic level.
*Illustrative imageHGF and Met in cancer progression
Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) promotes organ formation and tissue regeneration through its receptor Met, but abnormal activation of Met drives cancer progression. The lab aims to elucidate the full picture of this signaling mechanism from the viewpoint of structural biology.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Molecular Creation Lab are faculty, senior technical specialists, secretaries, project researchers, dispatched researchers, visiting researchers, and doctoral and master's students.As of 2026
- ProfessorJunichi Takagi
- Associate ProfessorTakao Arimori
VoicesStudent voices
Ratings and reviews reflect the experiences of individual current or former students, not the lab's official views. Whether a lab has reviews, or how many, says nothing about the lab itself.
Students who take part in an interview may receive a thank-you gift worth ¥1,000, regardless of what they say.
Student ratings (0 students)
--
--
--
--
--
--
Student voices answer questions like these
- What's great about this lab?
- What did you learn after joining?
- What's the vibe, and what is the professor like?
- Who is this lab for?
- Where do graduates go?
Your experience can help younger students choose their lab. Your name won't be shown.
Write a lab reviewAnonymous · Your draft is saved if you stopRelatedLabs similar to Molecular Creation Lab
Functional Structure Measurement LabInstitute for Protein Research, Division of Integrated Protein ScienceElucidating the structure and function of interacting protei…
Spin Structural Biology LabInstitute for Protein Research, Division of Integrated Protein ScienceDevelopment of new solution NMR methods to elucidate the dyn…
Electron Structural Biology LabInstitute for Protein Research, Division of Integrated Protein ScienceAnalysis of the structure and function of motor proteins by …
Supramolecular Structure Analysis LabInstitute for Protein Research, Division of Integrated Protein ScienceStructural analysis of proteins and biological supramolecula…The information on this page is compiled by the LabLog team from the lab's public information and interviews. For corrections or removal requests, please contact LabLog, not the lab.
Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Crystal structure of Sec23aSec24aSec22 complexed with a C-terminal II sorting motif - Protein transport protein Sec24A 5VNG” Ma W, Goldberg E, Goldberg J / CC0 (cropped)
- Semaphorin signal transduction: “Protein Structure of human NDNF” Alpha Fold Team / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- The Wnt signaling pathway: “Wnt-Signal CY-Lavoisier” The original uploader was Ycomb at French Wikipedia. / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Integrins, cell adhesion molecules: “Substrate Adhesion Molecules” Innertuber40 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- HGF and Met in cancer progression: “PDB 3cth EBI” Jawahar Swaminathan and MSD staff at the European Bioinformatics Institute / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (機能構造計測学グループ): “900 MHz unshielded Oxford magnet Svenskt NMR centrum Gothenburg” Adville / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (スピン構造生物学研究室
（宮ノ入研） ): “NMR instrument” SamihaAlam1999 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped) - Related lab (電子構造生物学研究室
（加藤研） ): “FEI Titan 50-300 PICO” ER-C, Forschungszentrum Jülich / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped) - Related lab (超分子構造解析学グループ): “National Synchrotron Light Source II Quadrupole Magnet Model” Henrysz / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
About LabLog
LabLog is a lab review app for students only. Student members at each university interview students in labs and publish what they say. Student voices can only be read by students who sign up with a university email address. Operated by bestiee Inc.
Learn more about LabLog ↗Search engines and AI may reference the basic lab info and rating summaries on this page and the description of LabLog. Student voices are for student members only. Automated collection by programs (scraping, or input to or training of AI) is prohibited under Article 8 of the Terms of Service. If you need data for research or analysis, please contact us.