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Umetsu Lab
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A lab that reassembles proteins like building blocks to create new functions.
AboutAbout the lab
Evolving proteins the smart way.
The Umetsu Lab studies how to put proteins to use, drawing on the diversity of their structures and functions.
Proteins are made up of clusters called domains, and in many cases a domain is the smallest unit that carries out a function.
The lab treats the accumulated data on domains as a collection of parts and combines them like building blocks to design high-performance proteins specialized for a given purpose.
Based on this approach, the lab works on designing proteins useful in medicine, the environment, and nanotechnology.
Key terms
- Protein engineering
- Technology that rewrites the amino acid sequence of a protein to give it a function suited to a particular purpose
- Antibody
- A protein in the body that binds only to a specific molecule and plays a role in immune function
- Directed evolution
- A method that repeats mutation and selection in the test tube to pick out molecules with a desired function
NewsLab news
A doctoral student received the BCSJ Award (Chemical Society of Japan Journal Award) at the Symposium on Bio-related Chemistry
A doctoral student received a Poster Award at The Protein Society Annual Symposium 2026
A doctoral student received a Poster Award at the Annual Meeting of the Protein Science Society of Japan
A doctoral student received the Chemistry and Bio Student Award (Academic Contribution category)
A doctoral student received the Chemistry and Bio Student Award (Educational Contribution category)
ResearchResearch themes
Proteins are molecules with strengths that other materials lack, thanks to the diversity and specificity of their structures and functions. The lab treats the domain, the unit of function, as a part and combines domains like building blocks to design high-performance proteins useful in medicine, the environment, and nanotechnology.
*Illustrative imageSmart antibodies that target cancer
An antibody is a protein that has a part that binds only to a specific molecule and a part that sends signals to lymphocytes. The lab aims to split such antibodies into domains and reassemble them like building blocks, designing high-performance molecularly targeted drugs that bring cancer cells and lymphocytes close together.
*Illustrative imageHybrid enzymes for producing biofuel
Enzymes that break down water-insoluble cellulose into sugar (cellulases) have a problem: their degradation efficiency is low. The lab produces a catalytic domain and a cellulose-binding domain separately and assembles them three-dimensionally around a nanoparticle core, creating high-performance hybrid enzymes.
*Illustrative imageSelf-assembling nanodevices
The lab has been researching the idea that the ability of antibodies to recognize molecules also works on the surface structures of inorganic materials. It has obtained antibodies that recognize and bind to metal and ceramic surfaces, and has used them to successfully arrange and assemble inorganic nanoparticles and proteins.
*Illustrative imageEvolving proteins with artificial intelligence
A protein is a chain of 20 kinds of amino acids, and the order in which they are arranged gives rise to the functions needed for life. The lab is developing technology in which artificial intelligence guides the process of evolving proteins in the test tube toward a desired function.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Umetsu Lab consist of faculty, secretaries and technical assistants, doctoral students who are working professionals, doctoral and master's students, and undergraduate students.
- ProfessorMitsuo Umetsu
- Associate ProfessorHikaru Nakazawa
- Project Assistant ProfessorTomoyuki Ito
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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: “Antibody IgG1 surface” Tokenzero / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Smart antibodies that target cancer: “Structure of the intact human IgG B12 antibody (PDB 1hzh)” Elisa Fadda / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Hybrid enzymes for producing biofuel: “Cellulase 1JS4” B.T.Riley / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Self-assembling nanodevices: “TEM image of gold nanoparticles and nanorods” Fionán / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Evolving proteins with artificial intelligence: “Predicted FAM200C Tertiary Structure using AlphaFold” AlphaFold through Google / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Tamaru Lab): “Ausblick, Ethanolanlage, 2025 Dunaföldvár” Globetrotter19 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Kumakiri Lab): “Mebrane Fibres” Gert Swinner / CC BY 2.5 pl (cropped)
- Related lab (Takahashi Lab): “Lysozyme Protein Crystal in Hanging-Drop Crystallization” Rohit Sharma / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Nagao Lab): “Colloid lithography, artificial opal, polystyrene” Simpik / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
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