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Honda Lab (Department of Biomolecular Functional Engineering, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology)
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The lab designs proteins to create technologies for biopharmaceuticals.
AboutAbout the lab
From Understanding Biology to Creating Biology
The Honda Lab studies protein engineering and synthetic biology.
Building on knowledge of biophysical chemistry, structural biology, and computational chemistry, the lab creates artificial proteins intended for medical use.
The lab also works on developing foundational technologies that support the biopharmaceutical industry.
Research takes place at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, where students can conduct research with practical applications in mind within a national research institute.
Key terms
- Protein engineering
- Technology that designs and modifies the sequence and structure of proteins to give them new properties or functions
- Biopharmaceuticals
- Drugs whose active ingredients are substances, such as proteins, produced using biological mechanisms. Examples include antibody drugs
- Cytokine
- Small proteins released by cells that regulate the proliferation and function of other cells
ResearchResearch themes
With the motto "From understanding and manipulating biology to creating biology," the lab aims to develop original foundational technologies useful for the discovery and production of biopharmaceuticals. It pursues research in protein engineering and synthetic biology from both theoretical and experimental sides.
*Illustrative imageDesigning the World's Smallest Protein
Using a design program based on its own original hypothesis, the lab created an artificial protein called chignolin, which consists of only 10 amino acids. The lab then developed a more stable variant, super-chignolin, and has also determined its crystal structure.
*Illustrative imageA Cytokine Cyclized into a Ring
The lab designed by computer and synthesized a modified version of the cytokine G-CSF, which is used as a therapeutic drug, in which the two ends are joined to form a ring. The lab has shown that the modified protein retains the original function, while its structure is less likely to unfold and it is more resistant to degradation.
*Illustrative imageHow Antibody Drugs Aggregate
When antibody drugs denature and aggregate, their therapeutic efficacy may decrease. Focusing on the phenomenon in which antibodies aggregate when exposed to acidic conditions and then returned to neutral pH, the lab investigates the mechanism using a variety of analytical methods and is developing a theory for predicting aggregation.
MembersFaculty
- Visiting ProfessorShinya Honda
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: “CSIRO ScienceImage 296 Protein Crystals Use in XRay Crystallography” division, CSIRO / CC BY 3.0 (cropped)
- Designing the World's Smallest Protein: “PDB 1uao EBI” Jawahar Swaminathan and MSD staff at the European Bioinformatics Institute / Public domain (cropped)
- A Cytokine Cyclized into a Ring: “WBC (neutrophil) at centre, numerous erythrocytes and platelets (dot like bodies) in Wright's stained peripheral blood smear (PBS) microscopy” Ajay Kumar Chaurasiya / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- How Antibody Drugs Aggregate: “Antibody IgG1 surface” Tokenzero / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
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