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Neuronal Cell Biology Lab (Hirabayashi Lab)
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The lab studies neural circuits in the brain and the mechanisms of organelles inside cells.
AboutAbout the lab
Exploring brain function from organelles
The Neuronal Cell Biology Lab studies why animals are able to have sophisticated mechanisms for homeostasis and learning.
Molecular reactions occur constantly in the body, but much is still unknown about where, when, and how they take place.
The lab's central themes are the formation and functional regulation of neural circuits, and interorganelle interactions in mammalian cells.
The lab uses genetic manipulation and analysis of cells and tissues with fluorescence and electron microscopy.
Key terms
- Organelle
- A small structure inside a cell, such as a mitochondrion or the endoplasmic reticulum, that carries out a specific function
- Neural circuit
- A network of neurons connected by their processes, through which signals are exchanged
- Electron microscope
- An instrument that directs a beam of electrons at a specimen to observe fine structures that cannot be seen with a light microscope
NewsLab news
A student received the Outstanding Poster Award at the University of Tokyo Life Science Symposium
A student received the Sigma-Aldrich Rising Star Award
A paper on interorganelle contacts was published in Molecular Cell
A PhD student received an IBRO Travel Award
A student received the Outstanding Presentation Award at the Young Researcher Development Program of the Japan Neuroscience Meeting
ResearchResearch themes
The lab investigates how molecular reactions occurring inside cells regulate cell function and tissue activity. The main subjects are contacts between the endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria, the roles of organelles in neurons, and the formation and maintenance of neural circuits.
*Illustrative imageCommunication between organelles
Cellular organelles make physical contact with one another and exchange materials and signals. The lab studies contacts between the endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria in particular, examining their molecular mechanisms and their roles in cell function.
*Illustrative imageNeurons and organelles
Neurons process the signals they receive and serve as the elements of neural circuits. Under an electron microscope, the shape and arrangement of organelles differ greatly from cell to cell, and even between regions within a single cell.
*Illustrative imageFormation and maintenance of neural circuits
Neurons extend thin processes to distant cells to build circuits. The lab studies how this structure is built and maintained, from the perspective of the roles of organelles.
*Illustrative imageSeeing nanoscale structures with electron microscopy
Observing cells at the nanometer scale is not easy. Using electron microscopy techniques developed in-house and analysis based on deep learning, the lab reveals fine intracellular structures in three dimensions.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Neuronal Cell Biology Lab consist of faculty, postdoctoral researchers, doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students, academic support staff, academic specialist staff, and visiting researchers.As of 2026
- Associate ProfessorYusuke HirabayashiPublications ↗
- Assistant ProfessorMasafumi TsuboiPublications ↗
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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: “Нейрон коры с множеством дендритных шипиков” Sergb95 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Communication between organelles: “Mitochondria in living HeLa cells” 8x57is / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Neurons and organelles: “Myelinated neuron” user:Roadnottaken / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Formation and maintenance of neural circuits: “Cultured Rat Hippocampal Neuron ( )” ZEISS Microscopy from Germany / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Seeing nanoscale structures with electron microscopy: “Electron microscopes” ann gav / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Ikeuchi Lab): “Human Cerebral Organoids ( )” NIAID / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Osawa Lab): “Breast cancer cell (2)” National Cancer Institute
（撮影者不明） / Public domain (cropped) - Related lab (Sando Lab): “Robot arm handles an assay plate” National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Suzuki Lab): “3d tRNA” Vossman / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
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