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Synthetic Organic Chemistry Lab
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A synthetic organic chemistry lab that creates molecules, functions, and order through new catalytic reactions.
AboutAbout the lab
Making the impossible possible through cutting-edge organic synthesis.
The lab studies synthetic organic chemistry, in which molecules are designed and made, with new catalytic reactions at its core.
Research proceeds in three areas: creating molecules, creating functions, and creating order.
The lab also works on drug discovery based on a new concept: having chemical catalysts act inside the body to treat disease.
Aiming for substantial, long-term research that looks 10 to 20 years ahead, the lab provides a place where students can experience the excitement of cutting-edge research.
Key terms
- Catalyst
- A substance that speeds up or facilitates a chemical reaction without being changed itself
- Enzyme
- A protein-based catalyst that drives chemical reactions inside living organisms
- Drug lead
- A compound that serves as a starting point for further optimization as a drug candidate
NewsLab news
A doctoral student received the Outstanding Presentation Award at the Noyori Forum Young Researcher Training Program
A doctoral student received the Outstanding Presentation Award at the Next-Generation Organic Chemistry Symposium
A doctoral student (at the time) received the Outstanding Presentation Award at the 106th Spring Annual Meeting of the Chemical Society of Japan
A student received the Student Outstanding Presentation Award at the 146th Annual Meeting of the Pharmaceutical Society of Japan
A doctoral student received the Chemical Letters Young Researcher Award
ResearchResearch themes
Drawing on the creativity of organic synthesis, which makes it possible to design and synthesize molecules, the lab pursues research in three areas: creating molecules, creating functions, and creating order. In every area, the development of new catalytic reactions is key.
*Illustrative imageCreating Molecules
From the standpoint of developing catalytic reactions, the lab aims to make molecular synthesis clean, powerful, and achievable in fewer steps. Using its original synthetic methods as a key, it takes on the synthesis of complex molecules.
*Illustrative imageCreating Functions
Through new catalytic reactions, the lab makes molecules with unexplored potential more readily accessible and generates drug leads from new ideas. It also plans to develop catalysts that make use of small, readily available molecules such as hydrogen and oxygen.
*Illustrative imageCreating Order
The lab has developed a new concept in which chemical catalysts act in place of enzymes in the body, modifying the chemical order within the body to treat disease, and conducts research on drug discovery based on this concept.
MembersFaculty
The lab's members consist of faculty, project researchers, foreign research fellows, researchers from the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, graduate and undergraduate students, and secretaries.As of 2026
- ProfessorMotomu KanaiPublications ↗
- Associate ProfessorShigehiro KawashimaPublications ↗
- Assistant ProfessorYuki YamanashiPublications ↗
- Project Assistant ProfessorMina YamanePublications ↗
- Project Assistant ProfessorMisuzu HabazakiPublications ↗
VoicesStudent voices
Compiled from answers by students who were in the lab. Ratings and reviews reflect individual students' experiences, not the lab's official views.
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On a 4-point scale, ● marks where students' answers fall
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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: “Rotationsverdampfer” Gmhofmann 12:13, 26. Jun. 2007 (CEST) / Public domain (cropped)
- Creating Molecules: “Coloured column chromatography ( )” Максим Фомич / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Creating Functions: “Molymods” Sonia / CC BY 3.0 (cropped)
- Creating Order: “Hexokinase induced fit” Thomas Shafee / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Medicinal Chemistry Lab): “Solutions of organic substances for NMR analysis” Ryabitskii / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Natural Products Synthetic Chemistry Lab): “Synthesis ( )” Maximilian Paradiz from Amsterdam, Netherlands / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Fundamental Organic Chemistry Lab): “Benzene IBO” Alicesu / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Ota Lab): “Flow Cytometer (NIH BioArt 160)” Courtesy of NIAID Ryan Kissinger / Public domain (cropped)
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