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Nureki Lab
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A lab that seeks to understand life phenomena at the atomic level through the three-dimensional structures of proteins and nucleic acids.
AboutAbout the lab
Understanding life phenomena at atomic resolution
The Nureki Lab conducts research aimed at understanding life phenomena down to the fine detail of individual atoms.
Its primary goal is to determine the three-dimensional structures of proteins and nucleic acids that are essential to living organisms, using cryo-electron microscopy and X-ray crystallography.
To test what the determined structures reveal, the lab also carries out functional analyses, including in vitro experiments.
Key terms
- Cryo-electron microscopy
- A microscopy technique in which a sample is kept frozen at extremely low temperature and observed with an electron beam. It is used to determine the three-dimensional structures of proteins.
- X-ray crystallography
- A method in which a molecule is crystallized and exposed to X-rays, and the arrangement of its atoms is determined from how the X-rays are diffracted.
- Membrane protein
- A protein embedded in the cell membrane. It handles the transport of substances in and out of the cell and the transmission of signals.
NewsLab news
A master's student received the Matsuo Research Encouragement Award from the GPCR Research Group
A paper on engineering SaCas9 was published in Nature Communications
A paper on how DNA passes through membranes (the three-dimensional structure of ComEC) was published in Science
A paper on aptamers containing unnatural bases was published in Nature Communications
A paper on carotenoid-binding rhodopsin was published in Communications Biology
ResearchResearch themes
The lab aims to understand life phenomena at atomic resolution. It determines the three-dimensional structures of biologically important proteins and nucleic acids, and tests hypotheses drawn from those structures through functional analysis.
*Illustrative imageStructures of enzymes that act on tRNA
For tRNA to correctly link the genetic code to amino acids, trimming, chemical modification, and amino acid attachment are essential. The lab analyzes the structures of complexes formed between tRNA and the enzymes responsible for these steps, with the aim of understanding the mechanisms of translation.
*Illustrative imageStructures of membrane proteins
Membrane proteins in the cell membrane handle the uptake and export of substances, the transmission of signals, and more. Determining their three-dimensional structures is difficult, but the lab treats it as one of its central research pillars and continues to reveal these structures.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Nureki Lab consist of faculty, visiting research fellows, project specialists, technical assistants, academic specialists, administrative assistants, students in the doctoral, master's, and undergraduate programs, and research students.As of 2026
- ProfessorOsamu NurekiPublications ↗
- Assistant ProfessorTsukasa KusakizakoPublications ↗
- Assistant ProfessorSatoshi N. OmuraPublications ↗
- Project ProfessorRyuichiro Ishitani
- Project Associate ProfessorYoshiaki Kise
- Project Assistant ProfessorHisato Hirano
- Project Assistant ProfessorTatsuki TanakaPublications ↗
- Project Assistant ProfessorFumiya SanoPublications ↗
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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: “Women operating Cryo EM” Tina Saey / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Structures of enzymes that act on tRNA: “The tRNA cloverleaf general” Yikrazuul / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Structures of membrane proteins: “Cell membrane detailed diagram en” Mariana Ruiz / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (上村研究室): “Nanopore Sequencing ( )” National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) from Bethesda, MD, USA / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (竹内研究室): “Mouse olfactory bulb @ 20x ( )” Jason Snyder from Washington, DC, United States / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (國友研究室
（分子 行動遺伝学） ): “Varbuss” Heiti Paves / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped) - Related lab (塩見研究室): “Drosophila melanogaster - side (aka)” André Karwath aka Aka / CC BY-SA 2.5 (cropped)
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