LAB LOGA page on LabLog, a review site (not the lab's official page)
Arai Lab
Machine-translated · View original
A biophysics lab that designs useful proteins through both theory and experiment.
AboutAbout the lab
Designing useful proteins through theory and experiment
The Arai Lab conducts experimental and theoretical research to design new proteins that are useful for medicine and industry.
Using state-of-the-art protein design methods, the lab aims to develop drugs that target diseases such as viral infections, cancer, and allergies.
The lab also works on developing enzymes that efficiently produce biofuels and other products, and on basic research into the mechanisms of protein folding.
Combining life sciences, physics, and information science, the lab advances its research from both theoretical and experimental perspectives.
Key terms
- Folding
- The process by which a chain of amino acids folds into a specific three-dimensional shape. This is what allows a protein to function.
- Optogenetics
- A genetic technique that uses light to control the activity of proteins inside cells.
- Alkane
- A type of hydrocarbon made only of carbon and hydrogen. Alkanes are components of diesel fuel and heavy fuel oil.
NewsLab news
A paper from a joint study with the National Institute of Infectious Diseases and others was published in Nature Communications
A paper from a joint study with Shiga University of Medical Science and others was published in Arterioscler. Thromb. Vasc. Biol.
A master's student received the Encouragement Award of the Department of Multidisciplinary Sciences
A student received the Student Excellent Presentation Award from the Society for Biotechnology, Japan
ResearchResearch themes
The lab aims to decipher the "program of life" written in DNA and apply that knowledge to industry and medicine. From both theoretical and experimental perspectives, it works on designing proteins useful for medicine and industry, and on solving the protein folding problem.
*Illustrative imageDesigning proteins that target diseases
The lab theoretically designs proteins and peptides that block the binding between disease-related proteins, aiming to develop drugs for cancer, leukemia, allergic asthma, and COVID-19. It is also developing "novel miniature antibodies," small proteins that are easy to manufacture and can serve as an alternative to antibodies.
*Illustrative imageProducing bioenergy
The lab focuses on AAR and ADO, enzymes in cyanobacteria that produce alkanes, and aims to greatly enhance their activity to make diesel fuel production more efficient. It combines comprehensive mutational analysis, directed evolution, X-ray crystallography, NMR, and computational modeling.
*Illustrative imageMethods for enhancing enzyme function
There are almost no examples of enhancing enzymatic reactions through theoretical protein design. The lab develops theoretical methods that make this possible and applies them to a variety of enzymes to confirm the generality of the approach.
*Illustrative imageDesigning light-controlled proteins
For use in optogenetics, which manipulates proteins with light, the lab uses theoretical methods to design proteins that change their structure or bind to other proteins when exposed to light.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Arai Lab consist of faculty, project researchers, and doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students.As of 2026
- ProfessorMunehito AraiPublications ↗
- Assistant ProfessorShunji Suetaka
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 Arai Lab
Yanagisawa LabFaculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Integrated SciencesSoft matter physics (polymers, liquid crystals, droplets, ge…
Wakamoto LabFaculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Integrated SciencesBiophysics and systems biology (growth, adaptation, and evol…
Yokogawa LabFaculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Integrated SciencesTheoretical chemistry, quantum chemistry, solution chemistry…
Ishihara LabFaculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Integrated SciencesTheoretical biophysics, nonlinear dynamics, cell polarity an…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: “Myoglobin” AzaToth / Public domain (cropped)
- Designing proteins that target diseases: “Antibody IgG2” TimVickers at English Wikipedia / Public domain (cropped)
- Producing bioenergy: “Cyanobacteria guerrero negro” NASA / Public domain (cropped)
- Methods for enhancing enzyme function: “PDB 1wte EBI” Jawahar Swaminathan and MSD staff at the European Bioinformatics Institute / Public domain (cropped)
- Designing light-controlled proteins: “3ug9” A2-33 / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Yanagisawa Lab): “Phosphatidylcholine liposomes stained with acridine orange” ArkhipovSergey / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Wakamoto Lab): “E. coli Bacteria ( )” NIAID / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Yokogawa Lab): “Separatory funnel with oil and colored water” PRHaney / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Ishihara Lab): “Actin Filaments in a Neuroblastoma cell Line” Howard Vindin / CC BY 4.0 (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.