LAB LOGA page on LabLog, a review site (not the lab's official page)
Signal Transduction Lab
Machine-translated · View original
The lab explores treatments for cancer and regenerative medicine through the study of blood vessels and stem cells.
AboutAbout the lab
How tissues are built and broken down.
The Signal Transduction Lab (Takakura Lab) studies how tissues and organs are formed, based on the functions of blood vessels and stem cells.
It aims to clarify how blood vessels are formed and to apply the results to cancer treatment and regenerative medicine.
The lab brings together graduate students and researchers with diverse backgrounds, such as medicine, pharmaceutical sciences, science, and engineering.
It is a division of the Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, and is also listed in the faculty list of the Immunology Group at the Immunology Frontier Research Center.
Key terms
- Niche
- A tissue microenvironment, provided by blood vessels, that is important for the maintenance and proliferation of tissue stem cells.
- Cancer stem cells
- Cells among cancer cells that have stem-cell-like properties. They exist near blood vessels and proliferate there.
- Vascular endothelial stem cells
- Cells that differentiate into normal blood vessels in vivo and contribute to the long-term maintenance of blood vessels.
NewsLab news
An Assistant Professor received the Outstanding Presentation Award at the 18th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society for Immunotherapy of Blood Diseases
An Assistant Professor received the Young Investigator Award at the 50th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Myeloma
A paper was published in Inflammation and Regeneration
ResearchResearch themes
Tissues and organs are formed when the necessary cells differentiate from stem cells within the environment specific to each tissue, and blood vessels create the basis of that environment. The Signal Transduction Lab (Takakura Lab) is clarifying the molecular mechanisms of blood vessel formation and applying the results to cancer treatment and regenerative medicine.
*Illustrative imageMolecular mechanisms of blood vessel formation
To clarify how the structure and network of blood vessels are built, the lab analyzes factors important for angiogenesis and vascular maturation, as well as the mechanisms that create vascular patterning.
*Illustrative imageThe vascular niche and cancer stem cells
The lab showed that cancer stem cells proliferate by using the environment around blood vessels (the niche). It aims to develop treatments that cure cancer by regulating and normalizing the formation and structure of blood vessels in cancer tissue.
*Illustrative imageVascular endothelial stem cells and regenerative medicine
The lab discovered vascular endothelial stem cells and showed that these cells differentiate into normal blood vessels in vivo and contribute to the long-term maintenance of blood vessels. It is conducting research toward the development and practical application of treatments using these cells.
MembersFaculty
Members of the Signal Transduction Lab (Takakura Lab) consist of a Professor, Assistant Professors, Project Assistant Professors, project researchers, visiting professors, visiting faculty members and visiting researchers, graduate students, and assistant staff.As of 2026
- ProfessorNobuyuki Takakura
- Assistant ProfessorFumitaka Muramatsu
- Assistant ProfessorJia Weizhen
- Assistant ProfessorKensuke Hachiya
- Project Assistant ProfessorZeynep BAL
- Project Assistant ProfessorFitriana Nur Rahmawati
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 Signal Transduction Lab
Cellular Immunotherapy LabImmunology Frontier Research Center, Immunology GroupIdentification of cancer-specific cell surface antigens and …
Biochemistry and Immunology LabImmunology Frontier Research Center, Immunology GroupApoptotic cell death and phagocytic clearance of dead cells;…
Host Defense LabImmunology Frontier Research Center, Immunology GroupPattern recognition receptors and signaling factors; regulat…
Human Single Cell Immunology LabImmunology Frontier Research Center, Immunology GroupImmune cell heterogeneity analysis by mass cytometry and scR…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: “Bovine Pulmonary Artery Endothelial Cells Fluorescent Image” Erin Rod / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Molecular mechanisms of blood vessel formation: “Formation of the new blood vessels” Piotr Cywoniuk, Foundation of Research and Science Development, Poland Fundacja Badań i Rozwoju Nauki / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- The vascular niche and cancer stem cells: “Tumor Cells” Jlabanimation / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Vascular endothelial stem cells and regenerative medicine: “Blood vessels structure” Vslv / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Cellular Immunotherapy Lab): “Architektur eines chimären Antigenrezeptors (CAR)” Michels, A., Hartmann, J. & Buchholz, C.J. / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Biochemistry and Immunology Lab): “WBCs, apoptosis and echinocytosis in peripheral blood smear, May-Grünwald stain” Bondarev.gal / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Host Defense Lab): “Peritoneal fluid sediment in Wright Staining” Ajay Kumar Chaurasiya / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Human Single Cell Immunology Lab): “Lymph Node (NIH BioArt 304)” Courtesy of NIAID Ryan Kissinger / Public domain (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.