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Supramolecular Structure Lab
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A lab that uses cryo-electron microscopy to visualize molecular machines in viruses and cells, with the aim of leading to drug discovery.
AboutAbout the lab
Seeing molecular machines at atomic resolution
The Supramolecular Structure Lab was established in July 2026 within the Research Center for Infectious Disease Models, which is affiliated with the Institute for Life and Medical Sciences.
Supramolecular complexes in viruses and cells function only when many molecules are precisely assembled. By making their three-dimensional structures visible at the atomic and molecular level, the lab aims to elucidate the mechanisms of biological phenomena and apply them to molecular design and drug discovery.
The lab is not limited to virology; it collaborates with researchers in a wide range of fields that need structural information, both inside and outside the university and across academia and industry.
Key terms
- Cryo-electron microscopy
- A technique that rapidly freezes a sample and images it with an electron microscope to determine the three-dimensional structure of molecules
- Supramolecular complex
- A large structure formed by the assembly of many molecules that performs a defined function
- Nucleocapsid
- A complex formed when proteins enclose a virus's genomic RNA
- STAT1
- A protein activated by interferon stimulation that switches on genes that fight viruses
ResearchResearch themes
Centered on cryo-electron microscopy, the lab uses single-particle analysis and cryo-electron tomography to analyze systems consistently from the molecular level to the cellular level.
*Illustrative imageThe nucleocapsid of Borna disease virus
For Borna disease virus 1, the lab used cryo-electron microscopy to determine the structures of complexes such as the nucleocapsid, which encloses the genomic RNA.
*Illustrative imageThe immune molecule targeted by rabies virus
In a collaborative study, the lab determined for the first time the structure of a DNA-bound STAT1 tetramer and revealed how a rabies virus protein selectively recognizes this tetramer.
MembersFaculty
- Associate ProfessorYukihiko Sugita
VoicesStudent voices
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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: “3D print models of SARS-CoV-2 virus (left, yellow spike proteins on a gray virus surface) and a colorized scanning electron micrograph of a cell infected with SARS-CoV-2 virus particles (yellow)” NIAID / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- The nucleocapsid of Borna disease virus: “PDB 1n93 EBI” Jawahar Swaminathan and MSD staff at the European Bioinformatics Institute / Public domain (cropped)
- The immune molecule targeted by rabies virus: “PDB 1bf5 EBI” Jawahar Swaminathan and MSD staff at the European Bioinformatics Institute / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (RNA Virus Lab): “Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV- )” NIH Image Gallery from Bethesda, Maryland, USA / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Viral Molecular Pathogenesis Lab): “Herpesvirus (negative staining)” Dr Graham Beards / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Stem Cell Genetics Lab): “Cas9 5AXW plain” Thomas Splettstoesser (www.scistyle.com) / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Ultrastructural Virology Lab): “Influenza A Virus (H3N )” NIAID / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
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