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Veterinary Hygiene Lab
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A lab taking on infectious diseases shared by humans and animals, including prion diseases and drug-resistant bacteria.
AboutAbout the lab
Overcoming infectious diseases and exploring the unknown
The Veterinary Hygiene Lab studies infectious diseases that spread between humans and animals, as well as foodborne infections.
The lab began as a department devoted to prion disease research, prompted by the occurrence of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in Japan.
Today, in addition to prion diseases, its research covers drug-resistant bacteria and foodborne infectious diseases.
Its work ranges from basic research on disease mechanisms to epidemiological surveys of pathogens and the development of diagnostics and treatments, driven by curiosity: asking "why," and finding things "mysterious" and "interesting."
Key terms
- Prion disease
- A disease in which "prions," infectious agents made only of protein, multiply in the brain and destroy neurons. Examples include BSE in cattle.
- Drug-resistant bacteria
- Bacteria that no longer respond to antimicrobial drugs (antibiotics). They are a major problem in both human and veterinary medicine.
- One Health
- An approach that treats the health of humans, animals, and the environment as one, and tackles disease control across disciplines.
NewsLab news
Paper by Associate Professor Sato published in EBioMedicine
Paper by a PhD student published in One Health
Paper by a graduate published in Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy
Project Assistant Professor wins Best Presentation Award at the World Veterinary Association Congress (WVAC) 2026
PhD student wins Young Investigator Excellent Presentation Award at the Joint Meeting of the Japanese Association for Infectious Diseases and the Japanese Society of Chemotherapy
ResearchResearch themes
The lab studies intractable neurodegenerative diseases such as prion diseases, drug-resistant bacteria, and foodborne infectious diseases. Drawing on veterinary medicine's scope, which spans molecules, whole organisms, and the environment, it works to elucidate disease mechanisms, conduct epidemiological surveys of pathogens, and develop diagnostics and treatments.
*Illustrative imagePrion diseases and how neurons are destroyed
When prions multiply in the brain, neurons die, but the mechanism is still unknown. The lab investigates how astrocytes and microglia in the brain contribute to the disease, and looks for ways to slow its progression. It also surveys prion diseases in animals and works on developing diagnostic methods for canine cognitive dysfunction syndrome in aging dogs.
*Illustrative imageThe spread of drug-resistant bacteria and new treatments
Using molecular epidemiology, the lab studies drug-resistant bacteria found in companion animals such as dogs and cats, in the environment, and in humans and other animals, and clarifies how they spread through society from a One Health perspective. It also identifies factors that are important for bacteria to survive inside the body, and works on developing new drugs that block those factors, as well as rapid diagnostic methods.
*Illustrative imageResearch on foodborne infectious diseases in Mongolia
Starting from a JICA technical cooperation project, the lab works with Mongolian researchers to survey foodborne pathogens and drug resistance in humans, animals, and food. The work covers sampling in the field, bacterial isolation, and genetic analysis, and also includes training young Mongolian researchers.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Veterinary Hygiene Lab include faculty, postdoctoral researchers, administrative staff, and PhD and undergraduate students. A Project Assistant Professor from the One Health Research Center has also joined.As of 2026
- ProfessorMotohiro Horiuchi
- Associate ProfessorToyotaka Sato
- Project Assistant ProfessorAkio Suzuki
- Project Assistant ProfessorJirachaya Hiraishi
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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: “Sheep and goats in Arkhangai Province” Bernard Gagnon / CC0 (cropped)
- Prion diseases and how neurons are destroyed: “Protein PRNP PDB 1ag2” Emw / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- The spread of drug-resistant bacteria and new treatments: “Antibiotic susceptibility disk diffusion” Microrao / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Research on foodborne infectious diseases in Mongolia: “Vieh im Tal des Cherlen, Mongolei VII” GerritR / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Infectious Diseases Lab): “Red holstein cows near Josselin 01” Tsaag Valren / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Comparative Pathology Lab): “Tissue processing - Stained and mounted slides in the ubiquitous 20-slide folder” Ed Uthman / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Parasitology Lab): “Ezo Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes schrencki), 2024” MIKI Yoshihito / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Veterinary Internal Medicine Lab): “US, Ghana medical staff participate in medical exercise (8439610)” U.S. Army photo by Cpl. Clara Soria / Public domain (cropped)
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