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Nanodesign for Drug Discovery Lab [Research Institute for Microbial Diseases]
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A lab that creates safe and reliable vaccines from a pharmaceutical sciences perspective.
AboutAbout the lab
Learning from vaccines, mastering vaccines, and creating vaccines
The Nanodesign for Drug Discovery Lab aims to develop vaccines that people of all ages and genders can receive safely and with confidence, from pharmaceutical sciences perspectives such as drug delivery and safety science and toxicology.
The lab is developing vaccines against a range of infectious diseases, including influenza virus, enterovirus, and cytomegalovirus, such as mRNA vaccines and intranasal vaccines.
Working in close partnership with the Research Foundation for Microbial Diseases of Osaka University (BIKEN), the lab aims to seriously create the vaccines of ten years from now.
On the lab's website it is introduced under the name "Vaccine Creation Group (Yoshioka Lab)," and in graduate school it is a cooperating research field of the Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences.
Key terms
- Lipid nanoparticle (LNP)
- A tiny particle made of lipids that encapsulates mRNA. It is used in mRNA vaccines
- Adjuvant
- An immunostimulant added to induce sufficient protective immunity
- Intranasal vaccine
- A vaccine given into the nasal cavity instead of by injection. It can induce antibody production not only in the blood but also in the upper respiratory tract
- Structural vaccinology
- A field that uses information on the three-dimensional structure of antigen proteins to give antigens functions such as improved thermostability and higher yields
NewsLab news
An undergraduate student received the Best Young Investigator Encouragement Award and the Young Investigator Encouragement Award at the Joint Scientific Meeting of the Japanese Society for Vaccinology and the Japanese Society for Clinical Virology
A paper first-authored by a researcher was published in Vaccine
A researcher received the Excellent Presenter Award at the 42nd Annual Meeting of the Japan Society of Drug Delivery System
A paper from the lab was published in Mol Ther Nucleic Acids
Project Professor Yasuo Yoshioka received the 50th Tagaya Isamu Memorial Vaccine Research Iskra Encouragement Award
ResearchResearch themes
In vaccine development, the key challenges are delivering antigens to where immune responses occur, developing adjuvants that boost immunity, and ensuring safety. The lab combines pharmaceutical sciences, medicine, and science and engineering to develop effective and safe vaccines.
*Illustrative imagemRNA vaccines with fewer adverse reactions
Vaccines using lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) that encapsulate mRNA often cause adverse reactions such as fever and swelling at the injection site. The lab is developing vaccines with fewer adverse reactions by modifying LNPs and other components.
*Illustrative imageIntranasal vaccines
Vaccines given through the nose are expected to induce antibodies not only in the blood but also in the upper respiratory tract, which is the first site of infection for many pathogens. The lab is developing antigen delivery technologies that can efficiently induce mucosal immunity.
*Illustrative imageEnterovirus D68 vaccines
Enterovirus D68 is a pathogen that causes respiratory symptoms and has also been suggested to be linked to polio-like paralysis, but treatment is limited to symptomatic care. The lab is working on developing inactivated whole-particle vaccines, mRNA vaccines, and VLP vaccines.
*Illustrative imageAntigen design through structural vaccinology
This approach uses information on the three-dimensional structure of vaccine antigens to give antigens functions such as improved thermostability and higher expression levels and yields. Through interdisciplinary collaboration with protein engineering experts, the lab works on optimal antigen design.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Nanodesign for Drug Discovery Lab consist of faculty, project researchers, researchers, administrative assistants, and doctoral and undergraduate students.As of 2026
- Project ProfessorYasuo Yoshioka
- Project LecturerToshiro Hirai
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.
- Top image: “COVID-19 Vaccine vial and syringe - US Census” United States Census / Public domain (cropped)
- mRNA vaccines with fewer adverse reactions: “Solo-mrna-vaccine-5” Spencerbdavis / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Intranasal vaccines: “US Navy 071107-N-0775Y-005 Hospital Corpsman Chief Robert Bott administers a flu mist nasal spray vaccine to Utilitiesman 3rd Class Anthony Mezlak during a battalion-wide immunization day at Port Hueneme” U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Carmichael Yepez / Public domain (cropped)
- Enterovirus D68 vaccines: “Enterovirus D68 Virus” NIAID / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Antigen design through structural vaccinology: “Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase in complex with cognate tRNA” Oleksandr V. Savytskyi, Yaroslav V. Katrich / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
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