LAB LOGA page on LabLog, a review site (not the lab's official page)
Genomic Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences Lab (Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences)
Machine-translated · View original
The lab uses genomic information to investigate individual differences in drug response.
AboutAbout the lab
Unraveling individual differences in drug response through the genome
The lab studies, from a genomic perspective, why the same drug works differently or causes different side effects from person to person.
It investigates at the molecular level how genetic polymorphisms, small differences in DNA sequence in the human genome, affect drug response.
Its methods include genome analysis with next-generation sequencers, functional analysis of drug-metabolizing enzymes, and quantitative analysis of drugs and metabolites by LC-MS/MS.
The lab's website also introduces it under the name "Hiratsuka PGx Lab."
Key terms
- Genetic polymorphism
- A small difference in DNA sequence in the human genome that varies from person to person. It can affect how a drug works and what side effects it causes.
- Drug-metabolizing enzyme
- An enzyme that governs how a drug behaves in the body. When the gene sequence changes, the strength of its activity can change.
- Next-generation sequencer
- A device that reads DNA base sequences in large volumes. It is used to examine the genome comprehensively.
NewsLab news
A master's student received the Best Presentation Award (Poster Category) at the 46th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics
A paper by Associate Professor Miyauchi and colleagues was published in Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications
Research results from a master's student's paper were announced in a press release
A paper by Professor Hiratsuka and colleagues was published in Biochemical Pharmacology
A paper by Associate Professor Miyauchi and colleagues was published in The Journal of Biological Chemistry
ResearchResearch themes
Even for the same drug, the effects and side effects vary greatly from person to person. The lab investigates the relationship between this variation and the genome at the molecular level, and trains people who can propose new guidelines for safer and more effective drug therapy.
*Illustrative imageGenetic analysis for personalized anticancer drug therapy
Using DNA from patients with ovarian cancer, colorectal cancer, and other cancers, the lab searches for genetic polymorphisms related to the effects and side effects of anticancer drugs. It also aims to develop genetic test kits based on the polymorphisms it finds.
*Illustrative imageFunctional analysis of drug-metabolizing enzyme variants
Based on whole-genome sequence data from the Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization, the lab creates about 1,000 recombinant variants of 16 major drug-metabolizing enzymes and examines how their activity changes. It aims to build a panel for predicting drug pharmacokinetics.
*Illustrative imageMitochondrial DNA testing to prevent drug-induced hearing loss
It is known that people with certain mitochondrial DNA polymorphisms are prone to hearing loss from specific antibiotics. The lab aims to build a simple test that can be used in clinical practice, as well as a screening system for compounds that cause hearing loss.
MembersFaculty
Members of the lab consist of faculty, research fellows, and doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students, and faculty from the Education and Research Center for Clinical Pharmacy also join in supervision.As of 2026
- ProfessorMasahiro Hiratsuka
- Associate ProfessorYu Miyauchi
- Associate ProfessorTakamitsu Sasaki
- Assistant ProfessorHayato Yokota
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 Genomic Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences Lab (Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences)
Clinical Pharmaceutical Sciences LabFaculty of Medicine, School of MedicineClinical chemistry and biomarker discovery by LC/MS; reverse…
Biobank Life Science (Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization) LabFaculty of Medicine, School of MedicineBiobank life science, within the Tohoku Medical Megabank Org…
Biomarker Discovery Lab (Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization)Faculty of Medicine, School of MedicineBiomarker discovery: identifying genes associated with disea…
Molecular Oncology Lab (Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer)Faculty of Medicine, School of MedicineMechanisms of chromosomal instability and aneuploidy in canc…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: “DNA translation example” U.S. Department of Energy Human Genome Program / Public domain (cropped)
- Genetic analysis for personalized anticancer drug therapy: “Thermal cycler for PCR” Juan Carlos Fonseca Mata / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Functional analysis of drug-metabolizing enzyme variants: “Liquid chromatograph with a mass spectrometer operating on the principle of flight time in combination with a quadrupole analyzer (qTOF) in CAFIA laboratory, Czech Republic” Sarka Na kopci / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Mitochondrial DNA testing to prevent drug-induced hearing loss: “Mitochondrial DNA lg” National Human Genome Research Institute / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Clinical Pharmaceutical Sciences Lab): “Agilent LC-MS” Nick Birse / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Biobank Life Science (Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization) Lab): “NASA astronaut Mike Fincke inserts a cryogenic storage unit into a science freezer (iss073e0548958)” NASA Johnson Space Center / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Biomarker Discovery Lab (Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization)): “Blood test samples” Fumikas Sagisavas / CC0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Molecular Oncology Lab (Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer)): “Olympus-BX61-fluorescence microscope” Masur / CC BY-SA 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.