LAB LOGA page on LabLog, a review site (not the lab's official page)
Organ Function Lab
Machine-translated · View original
The lab explores how the cerebellum and pigment cells develop, using zebrafish and medaka.
AboutAbout the lab
Exploring the molecular mechanisms of organ development and function
The Organ Function Lab uses small fish such as zebrafish and medaka to study, at the molecular level, how vertebrate organs are formed and how they function.
The lab investigates how the neural circuits of the cerebellum form, and the role cerebellar neural circuits play in motor learning and fear response learning.
Another research theme is how pigment cells in medaka arise by branching off from neural crest cells.
On the lab's website, it is introduced under the name 'Organ Function Group.'
Key terms
- Neural crest cells
- Cells that appear during embryonic development and differentiate into various cell types, including pigment cells.
- Transgenic
- Describes organisms into which a gene has been introduced from outside so that specific cells produce fluorescent proteins or the like. Cells and circuits can be observed by making them glow.
- Genome editing
- A technology for rewriting a targeted gene. It is used to create mutants in which a specific gene does not function.
- Purkinje cells
- One of the main types of neurons in the cerebellum. Information from two types of input fibers converges and is integrated in these cells.
NewsLab news
Research by Associate Professor Takashi Shimizu, Professor Masahiko Hibi, and colleagues was published in Science Advances
A paper by Professor Masahiko Hibi and colleagues was published in Science Advances
A paper by Professor Masahiko Hibi and colleagues was published in Development, Growth & Differentiation
A paper by YLC Project Assistant Professor Takuya Kaneko and colleagues was published in Development, Growth & Differentiation
A paper by YLC Project Assistant Professor Takuya Kaneko and colleagues was published in Cell Reports
ResearchResearch themes
In vertebrates, the process by which organs with complex structures and functions form from a fertilized egg is precisely controlled. The lab uses small fish such as zebrafish and medaka to analyze the molecular mechanisms that control organ formation and function.
*Illustrative imageCerebellar development and neural circuit formation
Cerebellar granule cells and Purkinje cells arise from separate neural progenitor cells. The lab visualizes cerebellar neural circuits in transgenic zebrafish and uses genome-edited mutants to clarify the molecular mechanisms of cell differentiation and circuit formation.
*Illustrative imageFear response learning and cerebellar neural circuits
The cerebellum is known to be involved not only in motor control but also in emotion and cognition, such as anxiety and fear. The lab performs functional imaging of circuits in zebrafish and manipulates their activity with neurotoxins and optogenetic tools, aiming to clarify these higher-order functions.
*Illustrative imageHow pigment cells arise from neural crest cells
Medaka have four types of pigment cells (black, iridescent, yellow, and white), all of which branch off from neural crest cells. Starting from the analysis of mutants with abnormal body color, the lab studies the molecular mechanisms of pigment cell differentiation, and also analyzes them from an evolutionary perspective by comparison with other fish species.
MembersFaculty
Members of the Organ Function Lab consist of faculty, postdoctoral researchers, doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students, international students, secretaries, and research assistants.As of 2026
- ProfessorMasahiko Hibi
- Associate ProfessorTakashi Shimizu
- Project Assistant ProfessorTakuya Kaneko
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 Organ Function Lab
Cellular Drug Efficacy Analysis LabSchool of Science, Department of Biological ScienceElucidating higher brain functions and information processin…
Neural Circuit Structure LabSchool of Science, Department of Biological ScienceNeural mechanisms by which the animal brain instantly discri…
Biological Mechanisms LabSchool of Science, Department of Biological ScienceSignal transduction mechanisms and networks controlling cell…
Cell Regulation LabSchool of Science, Department of Biological ScienceThe cytoskeletal systems that determine cell shape, stiffnes…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: “Biology lab Cedar Point Biological Station” Scott L. Gardner / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Cerebellar development and neural circuit formation: “PurkinjeCell” 作者不詳 / Public domain (cropped)
- Fear response learning and cerebellar neural circuits: “Neuroscience 2” Priit Tiganik / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- How pigment cells arise from neural crest cells: “Chromatophores” Minette from Seattle, Washington / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Cellular Drug Efficacy Analysis Lab): “Virtual reality headset” FloppaIngénieur / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Neural Circuit Structure Lab): “Minettia fly” Ermell / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Biological Mechanisms Lab): “Petri Dish with HEK293 (NIH BioArt 653)” Courtesy of NIAID Ryan Kissinger / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Cell Regulation Lab): “Molecular Cell Biology Laboratory - LUMC” mararie from Leiden, The Netherlands / CC BY-SA 2.0 (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.