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Sawada Lab
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The lab designs biomolecules to create new functions.
AboutAbout the lab
Designing biomolecules and linking them to function.
The Sawada Lab studies biomolecules whose sequences and structures can be designed, such as peptides and filamentous phages.
Centered on molecular recognition and self-assembly, the lab combines genetic engineering with chemical synthesis and modification to clarify how sequence, interactions, assembled structure, and function are related.
Research is experiment-driven: the lab quantitatively evaluates structure, physical properties, and function, and uses statistical analysis and machine learning where needed to interpret the results.
The findings are fed back into the next round of molecular design and extended to biomedical applications, molecular sensing, and functional soft materials.
Key terms
- Peptide
- A molecule made of several amino acids linked together. By designing the order of the amino acids, it can be given the ability to bind to a chosen target.
- Filamentous phage
- A long, thin virus that infects bacteria. Its genes can be rewritten to change the amino acid sequence on its surface.
- Self-assembly
- The process in which molecules gather spontaneously to form a structure with a defined shape.
NewsLab news
Lab tour held for undergraduates considering tentative lab assignment
Professor Sawada received the Academic Encouragement Award (UBE Foundation)
Paper by Professor Sawada et al. published in Polymer Journal
Paper by Professor Sawada et al. published in ACS Applied Nano Materials
ResearchResearch themes
The lab investigates how molecular design gives rise to structure and function through self-assembly and hierarchical organization. By moving back and forth between design and verification, it aims to find design principles that lead to biomedical applications, molecular sensing, and functional soft materials.
*Illustrative imageCreating functions with genetically engineered phages
The lab uses filamentous phages, whose genes can be rewritten, as a platform that combines sequence information with the power of self-assembly. By changing the surface amino acid sequence, the assembly conditions, the interface, and external fields, it alters intermolecular interactions and assembled structures to build molecular systems with new functions.
*Illustrative imageSearching for peptides that recognize targets
Using molecular recognition based on peptide sequences and secondary structures, the lab searches for and designs peptides that can read out differences in the chemical structures and interfaces of molecules and material surfaces. The resulting peptides are applied to molecular capture, diagnostics, drug delivery, and molecular sensing.
*Illustrative imageHow peptides assemble spontaneously
Focusing on peptide self-assembly, the lab examines how differences in molecular sequence and solution conditions affect ordered structures, assembly states, and the emergence of function. The analysis uses spectroscopy, microscopy, scattering measurements, and physical property evaluation.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Sawada Lab are faculty, administrative assistants, and master's students.As of 2026
- ProfessorToshiki SawadaPublications ↗
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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: “Bacteriophage T5 2024 ps” Dr. Victor Padilla-Sanchez, PhD / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Creating functions with genetically engineered phages: “Enterobacteria phage T2 transmission electron micrograph” SnaxMikn / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Searching for peptides that recognize targets: “Endomorphin-1 3D BS” Mplanine / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- How peptides assemble spontaneously: “Amyloid beta fibrils” Boku wa Kage / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (堤研究室): “PDB 1dng EBI” Jawahar Swaminathan and MSD staff at the European Bioinformatics Institute / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (藤枝研究室): “Interference Colors from a Thin polymer Film” Tafaltens / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (上野研究室): “Flu Self Assembly ( )” NIAID / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (金原研究室): “Lipid Bilayer” US gov / Public domain (cropped)
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