KONAN UNIVERSITY

GRADUATE SCHOOL OF FRONTIERS OF INNOVATIVE RESEARCH IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Graduate School of Frontiers of Innovative Research in Science and Technology

The school of Frontiers of Innovative Research in Science and Technology (FIRST) has been established in 2009 at a new campus of Konan University located in Port Island, Kobe. The aim of the school is to produce Masters and Doctors as excellent researchers in the fields of nanobiochemistry and related sciences. Highly rated research is ongoing in the fields of nucleic acid chemistry, biochemistry, developmental biology, pharmaceutical chemistry, organic chemistry, bioinorganic chemistry, bioorganic chemistry, surface and materials processing, nanomaterial sciences, polymer chemistry, analytical chemistry and so on. Its researchers play leadership roles in various academic societies and universities-industry collaborations. The school features specialized research facilities for NMR and ESR studies, thermodynamic studies, electron microscopic studies and so on. FIRST shares a campus with Frontier Institute for Biomolecular Engineering Research (FIBER), which was established in 2004 and moved into the Port Island Campus.

Name Professor Research Activities
NAGAHAMA, Koji Associate Professor ・Development of skin tissue complete regeneration technology using self-replenishing gels
・Cell cross-linked hydrogels as living functional biomaterials towards advanced regenerative medicine
・Development of cell nuclear-targeting drug delivery systems using importin-mimicking nanogels
KAWAUCHI, Keiko Associate Professor ・The role of actin in p53-mediated tumor suppression
・Effect of mechanical environments for tumor progression
・The regulation of G-quadruplex in cancer cells
NISHIKATA, Takahito Professor ・Studies on the novel activation mechanism of human macrophage
・Studies on the homeostatic mechanism of human skin
・Studies on the molecular mechanism of morphogenesis executed in the ascidian egg
KAWAKAMI, Junji Professor ・Thermodynamic and kinetic analysis of functional nucleic acids
・Molecular design of effective nucleic acid therapeutics
・Molecular design of novel functional RNAs
USUI, Kenji Associate Professor ・Development of detection devices in medical/biological/industrial fields using artificial peptides
・Development of materials in medical/industrial fields using designed peptides with various secondary structures
・Study of applications in nanobiotechnology using nucleic acids and designed peptides
MIYOSHI, Daisuke Professor ・Nucleic acid structure, stability, and function under cellular conditions
・Molecularly-targeted photodynamic therapy targeting cancer and neurological diseases related mRNA G-quadruplexes
・Designing and screening of RNA-targeting small drugs
・Liquid-liquid phase separations of nucleic acids and proteins
NAKANO, Shu-ichi Professor ・Investigation of the effects of intracellular crowding on the biophysical properties of nucleic acids.
・Development of functional materials for controlling the structure and enzymatic activity of DNA and RNA.
・Evaluation of the binding of fatty acid-binding proteins to ligand molecules.
TAKASHIMA, Yohei Lecturer ・Systematic Evaluation on the Structural Transformation Properties of Al-based Metal-Organic Frameworks
・Syntheses and Catalytic Properties of Pd Nanoparticles and Organic Polymers inside MOF
・Hydrophobicity Control of Metal-Organic Framework using Post-Synthetic Modification
AKAMATSU, Kensuke Professor ・Study on ion transport process for high-performance electrodeposition
・Synthesis of novel thermoelectric materials using nano-sized constituents
・Plasmonic nanostructures for highly-sensitive chemical sensors
TSURUOKA, Takaaki Associate Professor ・Interfacial Synthesis of Coordination Polymers Crystal-Based Films on Metal Ion-Doped Polymer Substrate
・Preparation of Highly-Luminescent Semiconductor Crystal-Based Films for Light-Emitting Devices
KOUMOTO, Kazuya Professor ・Studies on solubilization/dispersion of water-insoluble bioactive molecules in water
・Development of bio-inspired materials mimicking functional metabolites in cells
FUJII, Satoshi Professor ・Development of electrochemical sensor of amyloid-beta peptide for early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease
・Synthesis and characterization of de novo metalloprotein having structural flexibility
・Synthesis and characterization of nitrile hydratese model complexes
MURASHIMA, Takashi Professor ・The development of facile Amyloid beta detection method with aggregation induced emission dye labeled peptide
・The development of DNA detection method based on fluorescence switching of a hydrophobic AIE dye-labeled peptide nucleic acid probe by aggregation/disaggregation
・The preparations of novel water soluble or highly hydrophilic AIE dyes
MATSUI, Jun Professor ・Synthesis of functional polymer with molecular recognition ability by molecular imprinting techniques
・Development of biosensors using synthetic functional polymer as molecular recognition elements
SUGIMOTO, Naoki Professor ・Nucleic Acids Chemistry under the Molecular Crowding Environments
・Stability, Structure, and Function of Non-canonical Nucleic Acids
・In Cell Physical Chemistry of Nucleic Acids