LAB LOGA page on LabLog, a review site (not the lab's official page)
Akira Lab
Machine-translated · View original
A lab exploring how innate immunity, the first line of response to pathogen invasion, works.
AboutAbout the lab
Exploring innate immunity, the first responder to pathogen invasion
The Akira Lab focuses its research on innate immunity.
Innate immunity is a defense mechanism of the body that is activated at the earliest stage when pathogenic microorganisms invade, and that acts in triggering inflammatory responses and in establishing adaptive immunity.
The lab has studied how pathogens are recognized by receptors such as Toll-like receptors (TLRs), as well as the intracellular signaling pathways involved.
It now focuses on immune regulation through mRNA stability, aiming to clarify immunometabolism and the causes of various immune diseases and to establish new therapies.
Key terms
- Innate immunity
- A defense mechanism activated at the earliest stage when a pathogen invades. It acts in processes such as inducing inflammatory responses
- Adaptive immunity
- Immunity that involves B cells and T cells. Together with innate immunity, it is one of the two major divisions of the immune system
- Pattern recognition receptor
- A receptor, such as TLRs, that innate immunity uses to specifically recognize pathogens
NewsLab news
Recruiting graduate students (doctoral program) interested in MASH and immunometabolism
Project Professor Akira won the 2026 Japan Prize
Paper published in Nutrients
Paper published in Immunity
Paper published in Int. Immunol.
ResearchResearch themes
The human body has an immune system that protects it from infection by pathogens, broadly divided into innate immunity and adaptive immunity. The Akira Lab has elucidated how innate immunity recognizes pathogens through pattern recognition receptors such as TLRs. It now focuses on immune regulation through mRNA stability.
View More ↗
MembersFaculty
The Akira Lab's members consist of faculty, graduate students, invited researchers, technical assistants, secretaries, and faculty and researchers from external collaborations.As of 2026
- Project ProfessorShizuo Akira
- Project Associate ProfessorKazuhiko Maeda
- Project Assistant ProfessorAkihiko Murata
- Assistant ProfessorArthur Milius
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 Akira Lab
Yamasaki LabResearch Institute for Microbial Diseases, Department of Host DefenseSensing of bodily abnormalities by immune receptors and home…
Arase LabResearch Institute for Microbial Diseases, Department of Host DefenseThe battle between pathogens and the immune system; elucidat…
Immunometabolism LabResearch Institute for Microbial Diseases, Department of Host DefenseRole of metabolic signals in immune cells; elucidation of th…
Glycan Immunology LabResearch Institute for Microbial Diseases, Department of Host DefenseBiosynthesis pathways and functions of GPI-anchored proteins…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: “Toll-Like Receptors (TLRs)” Varun Punnam / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Immune regulation through mRNA stability: “Macrophage ( )” NIAID / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (分子免疫制御分野 山﨑研究室): “Macrophage (NIH BioArt 311)” Courtesy of NIAID Ryan Kissinger / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (免疫化学分野 荒瀬研究室): “Cytotoxic T cell-ja” Template drawing and caption text from "The Immune System", any modifcations made by myself, are released into the public domain.; tossh_eng for ja label. / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (代謝免疫学グループ): “Macrophage (NIH BioArt 312)” Courtesy of NIAID Ryan Kissinger / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (糖鎖免疫学グループ): “CSIRO ScienceImage 354 Influenza Protein Attaching to Cell Membrane” Health Sciences and Nutrition, CSIRO / CC BY 3.0 (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.