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Cell and Molecular Functional Science Lab
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A lab that uses light to follow the movement of proteins inside cells.
AboutAbout the lab
Seeing how life works through the movement of molecules inside cells
The Cell and Molecular Functional Science Lab studies how proteins move and assemble inside cells.
Proteins work after folding correctly, but when folding fails they can clump together and form aggregates.
Because these aggregates are linked to neurodegenerative diseases, the lab investigates how they form and how they affect cells.
Taking advantage of the fact that light does little harm to living organisms, the lab is pioneering methods to measure molecules inside living cells.
Key terms
- Proteostasis
- The system by which a cell makes, assists, and breaks down proteins to keep them in the state it needs
- Molecular chaperone
- A protein that helps other proteins fold into their correct shape
- Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy
- A method that measures how fast molecules move and how much they cluster, using fluctuations in fluorescence brightness
NewsLab news
Assistant Professor Kasai received an Outstanding Poster Award at the Molecular Motors Symposium
An undergraduate student received a Poster Award at the Photon Frontier Forum
A PhD student received the FY2024 IGP Paper Award
A PhD student received the Best Poster Presentation Award at a research area meeting
ResearchResearch themes
The lab focuses on how molecules such as proteins work inside living cells while repeatedly coming together and dispersing. By clarifying the difference between ordered assemblies and simple aggregation, and where molecules gather, it aims to understand how interactions take place inside cells.
*Illustrative imageProtein aggregation and cell function
The lab investigates how protein aggregates implicated in neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and glaucoma lead to the death of neurons. In addition to cultured cells, it uses nematodes.
*Illustrative imageMechanisms of protein homeostasis
Molecular chaperones assist folding, and proteins that fail to fold are sent to degradation pathways. The lab studies the quality control system that keeps proteins in good condition in cells (proteostasis).
*Illustrative imageMeasuring molecular motion with light
Using optical techniques that measure living cells without damaging them, such as fluorescence correlation spectroscopy and live-cell imaging, the lab tracks how molecules move and assemble, starting from the single-molecule level.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Cell and Molecular Functional Science Lab consist of faculty members, PhD, master's, and undergraduate students, and a secretary.As of 2026
- Associate ProfessorAkira Kitamura
- Assistant ProfessorAyano Kasai
- Project Assistant ProfessorYuta Hamada
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: “Microtubule binding domain fused with GFP-tag reveals microtubule network of HeLa cell line” DrBib / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Protein aggregation and cell function: “CelegansGoldsteinLabUNC” Bob Goldstein, UNC Chapel Hill http://bio.unc.edu/people/faculty/goldstein/ / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Mechanisms of protein homeostasis: “PDB 1aon EBI” Jawahar Swaminathan and MSD staff at the European Bioinformatics Institute / Public domain (cropped)
- Measuring molecular motion with light: “Colors of a tentacle” Lilasnoow / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
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- Related lab (Structural Biochemistry Lab): “Lysozyme Protein Crystal in Hanging-Drop Crystallization” Rohit Sharma / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Morphology and Function II Lab): “Arabidopsis thal kz1” Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Innate Immunity Lab): “SalmonellaNIAID” 作者不詳 / Public domain (cropped)
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