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Membrane Systems Biology Lab
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The lab studies biological membranes from two sides: lipids and membrane proteins.
AboutAbout the lab
Understanding membrane systems with artificial proteins.
The Membrane Systems Biology Lab studies the biological membranes that make up cells and organelles from two sides: lipid molecules and membrane proteins.
Its basic research approaches include protein engineering, biochemistry, cell biology, and bioinformatics.
Recently, through collaborations with other groups, the lab has also been carrying out large-scale data analysis, machine learning and AI, and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations.
The lab accepts undergraduate thesis students from the Department of Chemistry in the School of Science, and graduate students from the Department of Chemistry in the Graduate School of Science and from the Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences.
Key terms
- Biological membrane
- A membrane that separates inside from outside and creates the space of cells and organelles. It is made mainly of lipid molecules and membrane proteins
- Membrane protein
- A protein that makes up a biological membrane. Together with lipid molecules, it carries out the functions of the membrane
- Lipid-binding module
- The part of a membrane-binding protein that binds to biological membranes or lipid molecules
NewsLab news
Results on the CLiB assay, which examines protein-lipid binding, published in Nature Cell Biology
An Assistant Professor received the JB Reviewers' Award
Review on real-time analysis methods for ATG8 lipidation published in Methods in Enzymology
Review on amphipathic α-helices published in Seikagaku
An Assistant Professor, together with other young researchers, received the top prize in the Japanese Biochemical Society's "Mirai no Seikagaku" (Future of Biochemistry)
ResearchResearch themes
Biological membranes are made of lipid molecules and membrane proteins, and they give cells and organelles their shape. The lab studies biological membranes through several projects, ranging from developing tools to examine the state of lipid molecules, to predicting how proteins bind to membranes, to the mechanisms of membrane homeostasis.
*Illustrative imageDeveloping tools to study biological membranes
Most existing analyses extract lipids from the membrane, so it remains unclear how lipids interact with membrane structure and membrane proteins. The lab is therefore developing tools that analyze lipid molecules in their native state.
*Illustrative imagePredicting protein-membrane binding
Many proteins function by binding to biological membranes, and membrane-binding proteins have lipid-binding modules. AI can predict structures, but it cannot yet predict membrane-binding or lipid-binding ability. The lab aims for highly accurate prediction using its own technology.
*Illustrative imageMechanisms that maintain membrane homeostasis
The amount and structure of biological membranes change greatly with changes in the nutrient environment, external stress, aging, and more. The lab seeks to understand biological phenomena involving membranes from the perspective of lipids, focusing on tiny nanoscale changes on the membrane.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Membrane Systems Biology Lab consist of faculty, postdoctoral researchers, master's students, technical assistants, and a secretary.As of 2026
- ProfessorTaki Nishimura
- Assistant ProfessorMashun Onishi
- Project LecturerKotaro Tsuboyama
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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: “Plasma membrane structure diagram” Rosanna Hartline (RosieScienceGal) / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Developing tools to study biological membranes: “The lipid and lipid bilayer” Bradleyhintze / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Predicting protein-membrane binding: “Membrane Protein Structure” Connectivid-D / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Mechanisms that maintain membrane homeostasis: “Yeast membrane proteins” Masur / CC BY 2.5 (cropped)
- Related lab (Cell Function Design Lab): “Synthetic Biology Research at NASA Ames” Alexander van Dijk from San Francisco, United States / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Cell Systems Lab): “Fluorescence micrograph of Thalassiosira nanae” Terry J. McGenity, Amare Gessesse, John E. Hallsworth, Esther Garcia Cela, Carol Verheecke-Vaessen, Fengping Wang, Max Chavarría, Max M. Haggblom, Søren Molin, Antoine Danchin, Eddy J. Smid, Cédric Lood, Charles S. Cockell, Corinne Whitby, Shuang-Jiang Liu, Nancy P. Keller, Lisa Y. Stein, Seth R. Bordenstein, Rup Lal, Olga C. Nunes, Lone Gram, Brajesh K. Singh, Nicole S. Webster, Cindy Morris, Sharon Sivinski, Saskia Bindschedler, Pilar Junier, André Antunes, Bonnie K. Baxter, Paola Scavone and Kenneth Timmis Photograph by Philippe Laissue. / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Protein Data Bank Development Lab): “Neuraminidase Ribbon Diagram” NASA / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Biomolecular Dynamics Modeling Lab): “TriosePhosphateIsomerase Ribbon pastel” Dcrjsr / CC BY 3.0 (cropped)
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