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Kurumizaka Lab (Graduate Students Only)
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A lab that "sees" the chromatin that packages DNA in order to uncover how genes work.
AboutAbout the lab
Seeing chromatin to unravel its mysteries
The Kurumizaka Lab studies the structure and function of chromatin, the form in which DNA is packaged inside the cell nucleus.
Most cells in the body carry the same DNA, yet they develop into cells with different forms and functions.
Epigenetics is the mechanism that controls this without changing the DNA sequence, and the key lies in the structure of chromatin.
Combining biochemical methods with structural analysis such as cryo-electron microscopy, the lab aims to uncover how chromatin switches gene activity on and off.
Key terms
- Chromatin
- A structure in which DNA is wound around proteins called histones, forming a bead-like chain that is packed into the nucleus
- Epigenetics
- The mechanisms that determine which genes are active without changing the DNA sequence
- Cryo-electron microscopy
- A type of microscopy in which a sample is rapidly frozen and imaged with an electron beam to determine the three-dimensional structure of molecules
NewsLab news
Prof. Kurumizaka received the Takeda Science Foundation's 2026 Takeda Medical Prize
Published a paper on the structural basis of asymmetric transcription through a composite nucleosome
Published a paper on the structural basis of nucleosome remodeling by Rad26
Assistant Professor Matsumoto received the Japanese Biochemical Society's 2026 Encouragement Award
A doctoral student received the FY2025 Research Encouragement Award from the Graduate School of Science
ResearchResearch themes
To clarify how chromatin regulates biological phenomena, the lab reconstitutes chromatin in test tubes to reproduce biological reactions, and investigates the molecular mechanisms of those reactions from three-dimensional structures using methods such as cryo-electron microscopy. It also works on structural analysis of chromatin extracted from cells and on direct observation of chromatin inside the cell nucleus.
*Illustrative imageReconstituting chromatin in a test tube
From purified DNA and proteins, the lab reconstitutes highly pure chromatin in a test tube, reproduces reactions involved in transcription and DNA damage repair, and clarifies the underlying molecular mechanisms from three-dimensional structures.
*Illustrative imageExtracting chromatin from cells
The lab has developed a method (ChIP-CryoEM) for extracting chromatin containing specific epigenomic factors from cells and analyzing its structure, with the aim of revealing in detail what happens inside the cell nucleus.
*Illustrative imageDirectly viewing chromatin inside cells
Using cryo-electron tomography, in which the nuclei of frozen cells are thinned with an ion beam and imaged with a cryo-electron microscope from multiple angles, the lab observes the three-dimensional structure of chromatin inside the nucleus.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Kurumizaka Lab consist of faculty, project researchers, technical specialists, academic specialists, secretaries, doctoral and master's students, and research students.As of 2026
- ProfessorHitoshi KurumizakaPublications ↗
- Associate ProfessorYoshimasa TakizawaPublications ↗
- Associate ProfessorNaoki HorikoshiPublications ↗
- LecturerTomoya KujiraiPublications ↗
- Assistant ProfessorShoko SatoPublications ↗
- Assistant ProfessorSyota MatsumotoPublications ↗
- Project Assistant ProfessorSuguru HatazawaPublications ↗
VoicesStudent voices
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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: “Titan Krios University of Leeds” Hiramano92 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Reconstituting chromatin in a test tube: “Laboratory microcentrifuge tubes and pipette tips 01” Gannu03 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Extracting chromatin from cells: “HeLa Cells Culture Phase Contrast 1 v1” Catfaster / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Directly viewing chromatin inside cells: “HeLa cells stained with Hoechst 33258” TenOfAllTrades / Public domain (cropped)
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