LAB LOGA page on LabLog, a review site (not the lab's official page)
Infectious Diseases Lab
Machine-translated · View original
The lab takes on the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases in animals by studying the battle between pathogens and the immune system.
AboutAbout the lab
Learning the wisdom of life and survival strategies from pathogens
The lab studies how viral and bacterial infectious diseases in animals cause illness, with the aim of bringing them under control.
When a pathogen enters the body, animals fight back with their immune systems, but pathogens have many ways to evade immunity or disrupt it.
To protect against pathogens, the lab investigates the relationship between pathogens and hosts from both sides: the survival strategies of pathogens and the immune mechanisms of the host.
Key terms
- Immune checkpoint molecule
- A molecule that puts the brakes on the immune response. When a disease drags on, it can cause immune cells to become exhausted and stop working.
- Enzootic bovine leukosis
- A disease in which cattle develop cancer of lymphocytes, caused by viral infection among other factors. It was also called bovine leukemia.
- Marek's disease
- A disease in which a virus causes malignant lymphoma in chickens. It is prevented by vaccination.
NewsLab news
A collaborative paper on a veterinarian-initiated clinical trial of an anti-canine PD-L1 antibody received the JVMS Excellent Paper Award
Started joint research on a new veterinary drug with Nippon Soda Co., Ltd.
A paper on how tick saliva suppresses the host's immunity was published in Communications Biology
A doctoral student received an Excellence Award at Agribusiness Creation Fair in Hokkaido
A student received an Excellent Presentation Award (Microbiology Section) at the Scientific Meeting of the Japanese Society of Veterinary Science
ResearchResearch themes
The lab studies both how pathogens evade immunity and how host immunity works, aiming to clarify the pathogenesis of viral and bacterial infectious diseases in animals and bring them under control. Focusing on diseases of cattle, chickens, and dogs, it works on developing new methods of prevention and treatment.
*Illustrative imageTreating hard-to-treat diseases with immune checkpoints
In chronic infections and tumors that are hard to cure in cattle, chickens, dogs, cats, and horses, the lab studies how immune checkpoint molecules exhaust immune cells. For diseases such as enzootic bovine leukosis and canine malignant melanoma, it aims to establish treatments that use antibodies to block the action of these molecules.
*Illustrative imageControlling ticks and poultry red mites
The lab aims to develop new control methods for ticks and poultry red mites, which are blood-sucking ectoparasites. It studies how tick saliva suppresses the host's immunity, focusing on immune cells such as T cells and macrophages.
*Illustrative imagePrevention and treatment of enzootic bovine leukosis
For bovine leukemia virus, which is widespread on farms in Japan, the lab pursues three approaches: developing ways to identify the risk of disease onset, developing new treatments based on immune analysis, and clarifying how tumors form.
*Illustrative imageResearch on Marek's disease virus
For Marek's disease virus, which causes malignant lymphoma in chickens, the lab works to solve the problem of disease occurring even in vaccinated birds. Its work includes clarifying how virulence increases, developing new vaccines, and analyzing the properties of viruses isolated in Japan.
MembersFaculty
Members of the Infectious Diseases Lab consist of faculty, postdoctoral researchers, administrative aides, and doctoral and undergraduate students.As of 2026
- ProfessorSatoru Konnai
- Associate ProfessorShiro Murata
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 Infectious Diseases Lab
Veterinary Hygiene LabFaculty of Veterinary Medicine, Joint Veterinary Medicine ProgramVeterinary public health. Elucidation of prion propagation a…
Comparative Pathology LabFaculty of Veterinary Medicine, Joint Veterinary Medicine ProgramComparative pathology: pathological diagnosis of companion a…
Public Health LabFaculty of Veterinary Medicine, Joint Veterinary Medicine ProgramPublic health; control of viral zoonoses; flavivirus infecti…
Microbiology LabFaculty of Veterinary Medicine, Joint Veterinary Medicine ProgramMicrobiology; origin, persistence, and evolution of pathogen…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: “Red holstein cows near Josselin 01” Tsaag Valren / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Treating hard-to-treat diseases with immune checkpoints: “T Lymphocyte ( )” NIAID / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Controlling ticks and poultry red mites: “Rhipicephalus-microplus-female-male” Alan R Walker / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Prevention and treatment of enzootic bovine leukosis: “Holstein Friesian cows queuing for milking in an automatic milking system in Bronów” Mikinisk / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Research on Marek's disease virus: “White Leghorn chicken at Parafield Poultry Farm(GN12788)” State Government Photographer / CC0 (cropped)
- Related lab (獣医衛生学教室): “Sheep and goats in Arkhangai Province” Bernard Gagnon / CC0 (cropped)
- Related lab (比較病理学教室): “Tissue processing - Stained and mounted slides in the ubiquitous 20-slide folder” Ed Uthman / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (公衆衛生学教室): “Culex Mosquito and Micrograph of West Nile Virus Particles” NIAID / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (微生物学教室): “Swan kussyaro” 鳴神響一
（Kyoichi Narukami） / CC BY 3.0 (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.