Guide for International Students studying Biology
in the University of Tsukuba


Organization of Institutes in the University of Tsukuba
This general information to the University of Tsukuba gives an overview of the organization of the University (http://www.tsukuba.ac.jp/english/index.html), and guides for living in Tsukuba (http://www.city.tsukuba.ibaraki.jp/hp/e_hp/).

The College of Biological Sciences is the undergraduate teaching program in biology.  It was founded in 1975.  Every year about 80 students enter the four-year undergraduate program in biological sciences in the college (Seibutsu Gakurui in Japanese).  The lectures in this program are mainly in Japanese, and cover basic and applied subjects of biology.  There are several lectures conducted in English (including scientific English classes, bioethics, bioethics and genes, and biological oceanography), which can be formally taken if appropriate status as a regular or exchange student is obtained.  Short stay students are welcome to attend these lectures through informal arrangements with the lecturers.
     Faculty members have a range of research interests, and for research purposes the University divides its faculty members into Institutes.  Most of the faculty of the College of Biological Sciences are members of the Institute of Biological Sciences (http://www.biol.tsukuba.ac.jp/ibs/indexE.html) (Gakkei in Japanese).  Most of the faculty members are also associated with a two-year Master's Degree Program (e.g. Environmental Sciences (http://www.envr.tsukuba.ac.jp/), and with a Doctoral Degree Program (e.g. Doctoral Program in Life and Environmental Sciences (http://www.life.tsukuba.ac.jp/)).  Entrance to the postgraduate programs is through written examinations and interviews, which are open to applicants in either English or Japanese language.  Postgraduate research theses can be written in either English or Japanese.

College of Biological Sciences Curriculum, Courses and Field Stations
The research interests of members cover fields of fundamental biology, and also provide opportunities for laboratory courses.  Short stay students could also apply to participate in some intensive courses or field courses through application to the responsible faculty.  There is a Gene Experiment Center associated with the College, which conducts advanced research on genetic engineering.  The Gene Experiment Center was the first institution licensed to build a glasshouse for field trials of genetically engineered plants at a university in Japan. There are field research courses and education training courses at laboratories in Shimoda (marine research center, http://www.shimoda.tsukuba.ac.jp/Enhome.html) and Sugadaira (alpaine ecological field research, http://www.sugadaira.tsukuba.ac.jp/). 

Foreign students can enter the Undergraduate Program in the College of Biological Sciences
There are a few foreign students in the College of Biological Sciences, either as formal students enrolled for the four-year degree program, or as one-year exchange students from universities with an exchange agreement with the University of Tsukuba.  The College of Biological Sciences has a formal cooperation student exchange agreement with the University of Manchester, UK (http://www.man.ac.uk/), which is discussed in detail below.  For full-time student status in their junior year at a university of college having an inter-university exchange agreement with the University of Tsukuba, there is a special course for one-year program known as JTP (Junior Year at Tsukuba) Program at the University of Tsukuba (http://www.intersc.tsukuba.ac.jp/01prospective/jtp_overview.htm).
     For exchange students staying up to one year, knowledge of Japanese is not necessary, but students should enroll in a Japanese language course when in Tsukuba (or even before).  Students in their senior year of undergraduate degree study who come to Tsukuba will chose a laboratory for senior research by mutual agreement, and can expect to communicate about the research using English language.  Tsukuba is an international city by Japanese standards, and students with a friendly and cooperative personality will find many students, faculty, and other city residents willing to communicate using English language. The University of Tsukuba has the second highest ratio of foreign students among national universities in Japan, but most of the foreign students are postgraduate students.  Students who come for research exchange can expect to be able to communicate in English with members of the laboratory. 

Student Exchange Program with the University of Manchester (UK)
There is a formal one-year exchange program for undergraduate students between the School of Biological Sciences, University of Manchester (UK) and the College of Biological Sciences, University of Tsukuba.  University of Manchester students normally come for one year and participate in the intensive Japanese language courses at the University of Tsukuba. They will be associated with a laboratory to do some experiments related to their interests. Early application is encouraged because at least one of the students in this program each year they may be awarded a studentship by Japan Student Services Organization (JASSO) (http://www2.jasso.go.jp/index_e.html) that covers their living costs; university fees such as tuition and entrance fee for students under the student exchange agreement are waived, regardless of success in the JASSO studentship application.
     Exchange students are welcome to attend lectures, but not required to.  The students can attend any lectures in the University of Tsukuba if they wish, so some students have used the opportunity to broaden their knowledge of not only biology but of Japan in general. The contact person in the University of Tsukuba for this exchange program is Professor Tomoki Chiba (Email: tchiba@biol.tsukuba.ac.jp).

Dormitory accommodation
Students under this exchange program can also obtain a low cost student dormitory room, at about 10,000 Japanese Yen per month rental fee.
     Students from other departments, and universities, are welcome to make enquiries to the administration office of the University of Tsukuba.  Often dormitory rooms are available. For students already enrolled, family apartments are also available at low cost in the University. 

Studentships from Japan Student Services Organization (JASSO)

About 50 students a year receive studentships from the JASSO for short-term studies (from three months to one year) at the University of Tsukuba.  There are over 50 universities in the world with exchange agreements with the University of Tsukuba (http://www.intersc.tsukuba.ac.jp/).

Entrance Examination for Foreign Students
Those students who wish to enter the four year undergraduate program should write to the Dean, College of Biological Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8572, Japan.  Students who enter the four-year degree program can answer written questions on the entrance exam in Japanese or English, however, the questions are written only in Japanese, and lectures are mainly in Japanese.  The University of Tsukuba offers intensive programs in Japanese language, but a fundamental knowledge of Japanese language is needed to complete the four-year degree program.
Those students who cannot envisage reading or speaking Japanese should probably consider postgraduate courses where exams can be taken in English, as discussed above.  In all cases prior contact with faculty members should be made well in advance of application to study.
     The annual fees for the university vary by course but are approximately 500,000 Japanese Yen per year, and the costs of living in Tsukuba are discussed in the information for Foreign Scholars at the University (http://www.intersc.tsukuba.ac.jp/).

Are you already in Tsukuba?
If you are already living in Tsukuba, or even studying biology at any level at the University of Tsukuba, you may like to be on a mailing list for social activities involving foreign students in Biology.  The contact person in the University of Tsukuba for this list is Professor Tomoki Chiba (Email: tchiba@biol.tsukuba.ac.jp). There is also a journal published by the College of Biological Sciences (Tsukuba Journal of Biology http://www.biol.tsukuba.ac.jp/tjb/). 
     If you are a foreign student in biology and have something you would like to discuss, then you are welcome to discuss it with a member of the foreign student committee at the College of Biological Sciences: Professors Tomoki Chiba (Japanese, Email: tchiba@biol.tsukuba.ac.jp).
     The students of the College of Biological Sciences have a balanced gender ratio, and most students are between 18-23 years of age.  The faculty does not tolerate harassment of students and if you have any problems please contact a member of the foreign student committee, or the Dean of the College of Biological Sciences, to ensure that any misunderstandings do not escalate.  There are faculty members with fluency in other languages besides English and Japanese in case you wish to talk in another language.

Lectures in English
In the University of Tsukuba there are numerous lectures conducted in English in various faculties and programs, but there is no centralized list of these lectures.  Most faculties are willing to have students join their lectures on an informal or formal basis, so please contact faculty personally when in Tsukuba.  Students will have to find out about the existence of lectures conducted in languages other than Japanese in other departments and programs through personal contact once they are in Tsukuba.
     There are also research lectures in English at the university and at some of the other 300 research institutions in Tsukuba Science City, and many international conferences in the city every year.  The university libraries contain journals in many languages.

Tsukuba life for foreign students
The University of Tsukuba and International Student Center web sites offer extensive information about campus procedures and life; this short guide introduces life in Tsukuba Science City, a town of about 170,000 people located about 50 km northeast of Tokyo, at the northern side of the Kanto Plain.  The view from Tsukuba is dominated by the 876-m high Mount Tsukuba just north of the town.  On particularly clear days it is possible to see Mt. Fuji from various places in Tsukuba.  The climate is typically hot and humid in summer; pleasant, though sometimes rainy, in spring and fall; and cool in winter.  Snow usually falls a few times during winter, but rarely accumulates.  Earthquakes do shake Tsukuba; there have been no large ones here lately.
    The town is unusual in its very high density of scientific institutions.  Tsukuba has more than 50 national research institutes, many corporate research laboratories, joint industry-government research laboratories, and several universities.  This high density of scientific institutions attracts an uncommonly high proportion of foreigners to the town.  Much of the town was newly constructed within the past 25 years.  
     There is a very convenient pedestrian/bicycle path along the long axis of town with bridges over most road crossings.  There are 2 broad, main north-south roads, Nishi-Odori and Higashi-Odori, which run parallel to each other most of their way.  Tsuchiura Gakuen-Sen is the largest east-west road and it is also quite wide, 6 lanes in the center of town.  The city of Tsuchiura is a few kilometers east from the center of Tsukuba.  A new express train to Tokyo is under construction and expected to begin service in 2005.  Until then, transportation options to Tokyo include driving or taking a bus or train.  The Joban highway passes through Tsukuba; tolls are expensive compared to other countries and traffic going to town is sometimes quite heavy.  The bus runs from Tsukuba Center to Ueno and Tokyo Stations.  If traffic is light, the ride to the city takes only about 70 minutes.  The Joban train line runs through Tsuchiura, Arakawaoki, and Hitachino-Ushiku, all only a short drive (about 15 minutes) from Tsukuba Center.  The train takes slightly more than an hour to Ueno Station.  As Tsukuba is rather flat, bicycling is a very practical and generally pleasant way to get around locally.

Useful links for foreign students

Tsukuba information

University of Tsukuba                             http://www.tsukuba.ac.jp/english/index.html
International Student Center                   http://www.intersc.tsukuba.ac.jp/
Tsukuba Area International Researcher's Association (TAIRA)    http://eve.bk.tsukuba.ac.jp/
Livetalk                                                  http://www.alientimes.org/groups/livetalktsukuba/
Tsukuba City English Home page           http://www.city.tsukuba.ibaraki.jp/hp/e_hp/
Tsukuba Science City info                      http://www.info-tsukuba.org/english/
Rainbow Club's Tsukuba City Guide       http://www.rainbowclub.org/
Hitchhiker's Guide to Tsukuba               http://kicoff.kek.jp/
Tsukuba Walking & Mountaineering Club Web Site        http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Gorge/6108/

 

Kanto and Japan information

Narita Airport                                        http://www.narita-airport.jp/en/index.html
Japan National Tourist Organization        http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/
National Science Foundation (US), Tokyo office            http://www.nsftokyo.org/
A Practical Guide to Working as a Scientist in Japan by Robert W. Ridge         http://mac122.icu.ac.jp/ridge_html_book/jc0.html
Ibaraki Prefecture's English home page     http://www.pref.ibaraki.jp/bukyoku/seikan/kokuko/en/

Tokyo info

Guides to food and drink, music and entertainment, transportation and shopping in Tokyo        http://www.bento.com/tleisure.html
Planet Tokyo                                          http://www.pandemic.com/tokyo/
Tokyo Weekender                                 http://weekender.co.jp/index.html
Currency conversion                              http://www.oanda.com/


Guide for International Students studying Biology



Members in the College of Biological Sciences,
University of Tsukuba (2006)

 

Professors

CHIBA, Tomoki (Institute of Biological Sciences)
Teaching: System in Cell III
Research: Research on the molecular mechanism of selective protein degradation. Our laboratory aims to understand the physiological and pathological roles of the protein degradation mechanism in various aspects of biological processes such as cycle progression ,signal transduction,apoptosis,etc.
1) Molecular genetics of ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation.
2) Role of selective protein degradation in stress and cytokine responses.
3) Knockout mice analyses of the ubiquitin system.
Keywords: Ubiquitin family, proteasome, cell cycle, signal transduction

HAMA, Takeo (Institute of Biological Sciences)
Teaching: Aquatic ecology ; Fundamental Biology, Laboratory I; II; III ; Plant Ecology I ; Introduction to Ecology
Research: Primary productivity, composition of photosynthetic products and their regulating factors in marine and lake environments. Transformation, transport and decomposition processes of organic materials through aquatic food web, especially concerned with biogeochemical properties of particulate and dissolved organic constituents.
Keywords: aquatic ecosystem, biogeochemical cycle, phytoplankton, particulate organic matter, dissolved organic matter

HASHIMOTO, Tetsuo (Institute of Biological Sciences)
Teaching: Microbiology, Laboratory ; Microbiology II ; Biodiversity Informatics I ; Molecular EvolutionT; Molecular Evolution, Laboratory
Research: 1. Molecular phylogeny of eukaryotic micro organisms.
2. Molecular evolutionary studies on the origin and early divergences of eukaryotes.

HAYASHI, Jun-ichi (Institute of Biological Sciences)
Teaching: Introduction to Embryology ; Embryology T
Research: 1. Somatic cell genetical and molecular biological approaches to understand dynamics of the mitochondrial genetic system and of organelle biogenesis in living human and rodent cells. 2. Molecular biological approaches for analyzing the inheritance and expression of mtDNA mutations in mammals. 3. Diagnosis of mitochondrial diseases and diabetes using intercellular transfer of the patient mtDNA to mtDNA-less human cells. 4. Isolation and characterization of transgenic mice possessing pathogenic mtDNA mutations for screening drugs and for understanding the mechanisms of phenotypic expression of mitochondrial diseases.

INABA, kazuo (Institute of Biological Sciences)
Teaching: Topics in Biology VI〔Biology of Spermatozoa〕 ; Laboratory and Field Studies in Marine Biology ; Marine Course in Invertebrate Cell Biology
Research: Research on molecular architecture of spermatozoa. Identification and molecular assembly of sperm proteins by functional proteomics and genomics. Signaling pathway for the activation of sperm motility and for sperm-egg interaction at fertilization. Regulation of the molecular motor dynein. Genome science in marine invertebrates.

INOUYE, Isao (Institute of Biological Sciences)
Teaching:  Plant Taxonomy I ; Laboratory and Field Studies in Marine Botany ; Laboratory and Field Studies in Plant Taxonomy ; Introduction to Taxonomy
Research: Systematics and Phylogeny of phytoflagellates and protists. Systematics and phylogeny of phytoflagellates which form many distinct lineages in the eukaryotic world. For obtaining a better framework of photosynthetic organisms and understanding of their early divergence, microalgae exhibiting primitive features and non-pigmented flagellates, probably the descendants of ancestors of photosynthetic lineages, are studied. Major techniques presently employed are electron microscopy of cellular components, especially of the flagellar apparatus, and DNA sequencing. Description and classification of new taxa are also important part of work.
Keywords: ultrastructure, life cycle, molecular phylogeny

KAMADA, Hiroshi (Institute of Biological Sciences)
Teaching: Introduction to Plant Physiology ; Plant Physiology U
Research: Main subject is to elucidate the mechanisms of morphogenesis in higher plants, especially embryogenesis and flower formation. On embryogenesis, we are analysing the molecular mechanisms for induction of embryogenic competence (totipotency) and for development of somatic and zygotic embryos. On flower formation, we are characterizing various genes of which the expression is correlated to induction of flowering and to determine the flower structure. We are also working on molecular mechanisms of biological clock in higher plants. Approaches used involve gene cloning, plant transformation and cell engineering as well as plant tissue culture. 

NUMATA, Osamu (Institute of Biological Sciences)
Teaching: Introduction to Cytology ; Cell Biology T-U
Research: Research on molecular mechanisms of cytokinesis using the ciliated protozoan Tetrahymena. One project is to study the mechanism of division plane determination using cell division arrest mutant cdaA1. A second project is to elucidate functions of actin-binding proteins and myosin in contractile ring formation.
Keywords: cytokinesis, cytoskeleton, Tetrahymena, actin, myosin

OGUMA, Yuzuru (Institute of Biological Sciences)
Teaching: Evolutionary Genetics ; Evolutionary Genetics,Laboratory ; Introduction to Genetics
Research: Studies on insect speciation, particularly in genetic aspects of microevolution. Genetic control of courtship behavior based on acoustic, olfactory and visual signals in Drosophila.
Keywords: evolution, Drosophila, species recognition, courtship behavior

SAKAI, Shingo (Institute of Biological Sciences)
Teaching: Plant physiology I ; Plant Physiology,Laboratory
Research: Research on physiological functions and the mode of action of plant hormones. One research project involves the regulation of gene expression by plant hormones in sexual modification, cut injury and immortal cell induction. Another research project involves the characterization of putative plant hormone receptors. A new project is the purification and gene cloning of telomerase of higher plants.

SATOH, Shinobu (Institute of Biological Sciences)
Teaching: Plant Physiology I ; Plant Physiology Laboratory
Research: Research on the molecular functions of apoplast including cell wall in plant development and function with molecular biological techniques. 1. Functions of root and organic substances including proteins in xylem sap in whole plant. 2. Functions of proteins and pectin of cell wall in plant cells.
Keywords: cell wall, pectin, root, xylem sap, gene

SHIRAIWA, Yoshihiro (Institute of Biological Sciences)
Teaching: Metabolism and Physiological Chemistry I-II ; Metabolism and Physiological Chemistry Laboratory ; Introduction to Plant Physiology
Research: Regulatory mechanisms for the photosynthetic fixation of CO2 by microalgae, such as unicellular green algae and coccolithophorids, and for the changes in the photosynthetic properties during acclimation to high or low CO2 conditions are our main interests for research. Mechanism of intracellular calcification by marine coccolithophorids is also actively studied. Research themes in detail are as follows: mechanisms for the efficient utilization and transport of inorganic carbon, the regulatory mechanisms of carbon metabolism in photosynthesis and photorespiration, the CO2-concentrating mechanism by microalgae, and the induction mechanisms and the physiological functions of high- and low- CO2-inducible proteins.
Keywords: algal growth regulation, biomineralization, photosynthetic carbon metabolism; CO2-acclimation, marine microalgae

SUGITA, Hiroaki (Institute of Biological Sciences)
Teaching: Animal Systematics I
Research: Research on evolution and phylogeny of Chelicerata (horseshoe crabs, spiders, scorpions, etc). Approaches used involve comparative studies, between horseshoe crabs, of amino acid sequences and antigenicity of hemocyanin subunits, nucleotide sequences of two mitochondrial genes, and developmental capacity of artificial hybrids. Current focus is on molecular evolution of hemocyanin subunits and species evolution of horseshoe crabs and spiders based on amino acid sequence analyses.

TOKUMASU, Seiji (Institute of biological Sciences)
Teaching: Plant Taxonomy II ; Laboratory and Field Studies in Plant Taxonomy ; Introduction to Taxonomy
Research: Research on ecology of fungi, and in particular on the fungal successions associated with the decay of plant debris. One focus is on the floristic descriptions of the development of fungal communities on various substrata, and another is on the effects of climate on the geographic ranges of saprophytic microfungi involved in successions. Another research project involves the infra-specific structures of some zygomycetous fungi related to their geographic ranges.
Keywords: mycology, microfungi, decomposer succession, geographical distribution, micro-evolution, speciation

URUSHIHARA, Hideko (Institute of Biological Sciences)
Teaching: Introduction to Genetics ; Genome Biology I-II ; Genome Biology, Laboratory
Research: 1. Analysis of molecular mechanisms of sexual cell interactions using the cellular slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum as a model organism. 2. Genome-wide and computational analysis of genes in Dictyostelium discoideum with special attentions to genetic networks controlling multicellular development
Keywords: Dictyostelium discoideum, sexual reproduction, multicellular development, massive cDNA analysis, gene structure

WATANABE, Makoto (Institute of Biological Sciences)
Teaching: Plant Taxonomy I

WATANABE, Mamoru (Institute of Biological Sciences)
Teaching: Animal Ecology I ; Introduction to Ecology
Research: Research on ecology, and in particular on the life history strategy of insects. One focus is on the role of sperm competition in butterflies, in which a male produces eupyrene and apyrene spermatozoa. Another research project involves the odonate conservation ecology and habitat management. Approaches used are both field surveys and laboratory experiments. The interactions between plants and insects population are also interested.

YAMAGISHI, Hiroshi (Institute of Biological Sciences)
Teaching: Animal Physiology I ; Laboratory in Marine Animal Physiology ; Introduction to Animal Physiology
Research: Physiology and development of the cardiovasucular system in invertebrates. Main focus is to explore ontogenic and phylogenic diversity in heartbeat pacemaker mechanisms and in its regulatory systems in crustaceans using morphological, immunohistochemical and electrophysiological methods.
Keywords: invertebrates, cardiac pacemaker, regulation, ontogeny, phylogeny

KOBAYASHI, Michihiko (Institute of Applied Biochemistry)
Teaching: Biology on Molecular and Functional Basis I ; Introduction to Biochemistry
Research: The research of our lab is focused on fascinating problems in biotechnology, molecular evolution and metabolic engineering of biosynthetic pathways. Our work largely involves screening of microorganisms producing novel enzymes and their application for the production of new biologically active substances and the elucidation of fundamental principles of catalytic and regulatory mechanism in the enzyme-catalyzed reactions.
Keywords: Applied microbiology, Biotechnology, Genetic engineering; Enzymology, Bioconversion, Molecular evolution

MATSUMOTO, Hiroshi (Institute of Applied Biochemistry)
Teaching: Biochemistry II ; Chemical Regulation of Plants ; Applied Biochemistry, Laboratory III ; Chemical Regulation of Plants
Research: Research on modes of action of plant growth regulators including herbicides, allelochemicals and phytotoxins, and molecular mechanisms of resistance to the chemicals in crop and weed species. Current research also focuses on physiological and biochemical aspects of plant responses to oxidative environmental stresses due to active oxygen species and gene expression of anti-oxidative enzymes.
Key words: Plant growth regulators, herbicides, modes of action, environmental stresses on plants, active oxygen species, anti-oxidative enzymes

TANAKA, Toshiyuki (Institute of Applied Biochemistry)
Teaching: Biochemistry I ; Applied Biochemistry, Laboratory I ; Organic Chemistry
Research: Analysis of functional structures of proteins and its application

 

Associate professors

CHIBA, Chikafumi (Institute of Biological Sciences)
Teaching: Animal Physiology, Laboratory ; Fundamental Biology, Laboratory I ; II ; III ; Laboratory in Marine Animal Physiology
Research: Studies on the mechanisms of neuronal transdifferentiation reorganization using the retinal development and and synaptic regeneration systems.

FURUKUBO-TOKUNAGA, Katsuo (Institute of Biological Sciences)
Teaching: Embryology II ; Molecular Cytology and Embryology,Laboratory
Research:Molecular Genetics of Brain Development: understanding the molecular and genetic mechanisms of brain development is a central issue in neuroscience. Using Drosophila melanogaster as a model system, I focus on the molecular mechanisms of brain patterning and neural network formation that set up the computational basis for higher order functions such as learning, memory and perception. Recent molecular studies have revealed that genetic programs of brain development are conserved between flies and mammals. Studies on the Drosophila brain will have general impact to the understanding of the human brain.
Keywords: brain, genes, development, learning and memory, olfaction, evolution

INAGAKI, Yuji (Institute of Biological Sciences)
Teaching: Molecular Evolution II ; Molecular Evolution, Laboratory ; Biodiversity Informatics I

ISHIDA, Ken-ichiro(Institute of Biological Sciences)
Teaching: Molecular Evolution III

KUWABARA, Tomohiko (Institute of Biological Sciences)
Teaching: Microbiology I; I ; Microbiology,Laboratory ; Fundamental Biology , Laboratory I; II; III
Research: Studying microorganisms from hydrothermal vents, hyperthermophilic and anaerobic prokaryotes, such as Thermococcales. We are also interested in physiological roles of hemolysin homolog of non-pathogenic microorganisms.
Keywords: hydrothermal vent, hyperthermophile, anaerobic microorganism,
hemolysin, heavy metal-binding protein

MACHIDA, Ryu-ichiro (Institute of Biological Sciences)
Teaching: Animal Systematics I ; Laboratory and Field Studies in Animal Taxonomy ; Laboratory and Field Studies in Biology ; Introduction to Taxonomy
Research: Research on the phylogeny of Atelocerata, especially on the origin, evolution and ground plan of Insecta, based on comparative embryological and morphological approaches. Another field of study concerns the classification of thysanurans (Archaeognatha and Zygentoma).
Keywords: morphology, systematics, inseta, thysanurans

MARIKO, Shigeru (Institute of Biological Sciences)
Teaching: Plant Ecology II ; Plant Ecology Laboratory (These classes are intended to give undergraduate students an introduction to processes structuring plant communities and methodologies for ecological study.  Topics covered include geographical distribution, adaptation of plants to their environments, interactions between individuals and species, succession, ecosystems and their development, and biogeochemical cycling.) ; Introduction to Ecology
Research: Research program addresses ecophysiology of plants and ecology of terrestrial ecosystems.  Major goals of my research program are to enhance our mechanistic understanding of how plants are adapted to the environment, provide information necessary to link individual plant and population processes to higher scales of community organization, and evaluate contribution of ecosystems to global matter cycles.
Keywords: aquatic ecology, biogeochemical cycling, ecosystem ecology, physiological ecology, plant ecology

NAKADA, Kazuto (Institute of Biological Sciences)
Teaching: Embryology , Laboratory ; Fundamental Biology, Laboratory I ; II ; III ; System in Cell I
Research: Somatic cell genetic and molecular biological approaches to understand dynamics of the mitochondrial genetic system and of organelle biogenesis in living human and rodent cells. Molecular biological approaches to analyze the inheritance and expression of mtDNA mutations in mammals. Diagnosis of mitochondrial diseases and diabetes using intercellular transfer of the patient mtDNA to mtDNA-less human cells. Isolation and characterization of transgenic mice possessing pathogenic mtDNA mutations for understanding the mechanisms of the mitochondrial diseases and for drug screening.

NAKAMURA, Kouji (Institute of Biological Sciences)
Teaching: Biology on Molecular and Functional Basis, Laboratory ; Applied Biochemistry, Laboratory II ; Genome Biology I-III
Research: research on the function and structure of non-coding RNAs. non-coding RNA (ncRNA) genes produce functional RNA molecules rather than encoding proteins. Several systematic screens have identified a surprisingly large number of new ncRNA genes in bot prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Non-coding RNAs seem to be particularly abundant in roles that require specific nucleic acid recognition without complex catalysis, such as in directing post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression or in guiding RNA modifications. Moreover, these non-coding RNAs are identified as small drug targets.
Keywords: RNomics, non-coding RNA, RNA world, riboregulation, post-transcriptional gene regulation.

NAKATANI, Kei (Institute of Biological Sciences)
Teaching: Biophysics I ; Biophysics Laboratory ; Animal Physiology II
Research: My research is concerned with the molecular mechanisms of signal
transduction and its modulation in sensory receptor neurons. The techniques we use include electrophysiology (e.g. patch-clamp recording), computer simulation, and immunocytochemistry.
Keywords: neuron, signal transduction, ion channels, sensory receptors, electrophysiology

SAITO, Yasunori (Institute of Biological Sciences)
Teaching: Embryology I ; Laboratory in Marine Animal Embryology
Research: Research on the self-nonself recognition mechanisms in colonial marine invertebrates, sponges, bryozoans and compound ascidians. The focus is on the relationship between the allorecognition in those animals and transplantation immunity controlled by the major histocompatibility gene complex (MHC) in vertebrates. Other research projects are on the mechanisms of asexual reproduction in botryllid ascidians and on the phylogeny of botryllid ascidians.
Keywords: colony, allorecognition, asexual reproduction, botryllid ascidian, phylogeny.

SAKAMOTO, Kazuichi (Institute of Biological Sciences)
Teaching: System in Cell I ; System in Cell II ; Molecular Cytology and Embryology, Laboratory ; Fundamental Biology, Laboratory I ; II ; III
Research: Research on molecular biology of oxidative stress-induced apoptosis, differentiation and aging of mammalian cells. Currently we focused on the molecular function of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in related to the following subjects; (1) forkhead-type transcription factor (FKHR) family-mediated cell apoptosis and tumor suppression, (2) Septin (cytoskeletal protein) family-involved cell apoptosis and tumor suppression, (3) osteoclast differentiation and apoptosis in bone metabolism, (4) prostaglandin-induced cell apoptosis and receptor function.
Keywords: apoptosis, tumor suppression, oxidative stress, osteoclastogenesis, prostaglandin

TOQUENAGA, Yukihiko (Institute of Biological Sciences)
Teaching: Animal Ecology, Laboratory ; Laboratory and Field Studies in Ecology (Terrestrial) ; Fundamental Biology, Laboratory I ; II ; III ; Plant Ecology II ; Biometry
Research: Evolutionary ecology, and in particular theoretical studies of populations, communities, and ecosystems in virtual as well as real worlds. Materials are laboratory/natural bean weevil populations, egrets and herons living around Tsukuba City, bumble bees foraging at lowland areas, and computer bugs occupying several gigabytes in my hard disks.
Keywords: evolutionary ecology, population, artificial life, bean weevil, egret, bumble bee

YOSHIMURA, Kenjiro (Institute of Biological Sciences)
Teaching: Cell Biology I ; Cell Biology, Laboratory ; Fundamental Biology, Laboratory I ; II ; III
Research: Studies on signal reception and control of motilities in the unicellular organisms

WADA, Hiroshi (Institute of Biological Sciences)
Teaching: Animal Systematics II ; Animal Systematics, Laboratory II ; Molecular Evolution III ; Fundamental Biology, Laboratory I ; II ; III
Research: 1. Evo-Devo research of chordates. 2. Comparative embryology of marine invertebrates, including bivalves and echinoderms.

TANIMOTO, Keiji (Institute of Applied Biochemistry)
Teaching: Biology on Molecular and Functional Basis I ; Applied Biochemistry, Laboratory I

KAINOH, Youichi (Institute of Agriculture and Forestry)
Teaching: Chemical Regulation of Animals
Research: The chemical ecology of insect pests and parasitoids, especially the relationships in parasitoid-host (kairomone), parasitoid-host plant (synomone), and parasitoid-parasitoid (pheromone).  I also focus on the associative learning in a braconid parasitoid, Ascogaster reticulatus Watanabe, which is one of the important natural enemies in tea fields.
Keywords: chemical ecology, insect parasitoid, associative learning, biological control, tri-trophic interaction

YAMAOKA, Yuichi (Institute of Agriculture and Forestry)
Teaching: Functional Microbiology ; Fundamental Biology, Laboratory I; II; III
Research: Research includes taxonomy, ecology and physiology of plant pathogenic fungi, particularly ophiostomatoid fungi associated with bark beetles infesting conifers and rust fungi parasitic on field crops and trees.
Keywords: Ophiostoma, Ceratocystis, blue-stain fungi, bark beetle, rust fungi 

 

Assistant Professors


AOKI, Masakazu (Institute of Biological Sciences)
Teaching: Laboratory and Field Studies in Marine Ecology ; Extension Course of Laboratory and Field Studies in Marine Biology ; Laboratory and Field Studies in Marine Botany ; Laboratory and Field Studies in Marine Biology
Research: The ecology of shallow-water marine benthos.  Approaches used involve field observations and experiments with a local species population.  One focus is on the interactions between macroalgae and the animals utilizing them.  Another research project involves life history and reproductive behavior, in particular the evolutionary process of sociality in peracarid crustaceans.
Keywords: marine ecology, benthos, plant-animal interactions, peracarid, crustaceans, life history, reproductive behavior

IWAI, Hiroaki (Institute of Biological Sciences)
Teaching: Plant Physiology, Laboratory ; Fundamental Biology, Laboratory I ; II ; III
Research: Research on the physiology and molecular biology of plant development and function. Main focus is on cell-to-cell interaction in higher plants.1, Functions of polysaccharides in the cell wall. 2, Cytoskeleton-plasma membrane-cell wall continuum in plants. 3, Organogenesis and development of abscission layer.

KUWAYAMA, Hidekazu (Institute of Biological Sciences)
Teaching: Fundamental Biology, Laboratory I ; II ; III

MATSUZAKI, Osamu (Institute of Biological Sciences)
Teaching: Electronmicroscopy, Laboratory ; Fundamental Biology, Laboratory I ; II ; III
Research: Behavioral Studies on the House Musk Shrew (Suncus murinus). It is a coitus induced ovulater. This animal builds up the relationship between conspecifics by touching. The series of mating behaviors of this ancestral mammal was completed by the continuous touching of both sexes and by changes in the manner of contact.
Keywords: mating behavior, following, induced ovulater, house musk shrew, Suncus murinus

MANYWEATHERS, Jennifer (Institute of Biological Sciences)
Teaching: English for Specialized Subjects W
Research: Bovine reproduction and health and Science communication using English as a second language

MIYAMURA, Shin-ichi (Institute of Biological Sciences)
Teaching: Electronmicroscopy, Laboratory ; Fundamental Biology, Laboratory I ; II ; III
Research: Research on plant morphology, and in particular on the cell biology of the reproduction of green plants, especially green algae, liverworts, ferns and gymnosperms. One focus is on the mechanism of gametogenesis of siphonous green algae and ferns. Approaches used involve fluorescence microscopy, electronmicroscopy and biochemical analysis of flagellar apparatus of gamete. Another research project involves the structure and function of pyrenoids.
Keywords: plant morphology, gametogenesis, pyrenoid structure and function

MORIO, Takahiro (Institute of Biological Sciences)
Research: Research on molecular basis of multicellular organization in cellular slime mold, Dictyostelium discoideum. The current approach is based on genomic analyses including gene cataloging by EST analysis and elucidation of genetic network through expression profiling using microarray technology.
Keywords: multicellular organization, genetic network, Dictyostelium, genomics

NAKANO, Kentaro (Institute of Biological Sciences)
Teaching: Cell Biology, Laboratory ; Fundamental Biology, Laboratory I ; II ; III
Research: Actin cytoskeleton and microtubules are one of the fundamental cellular systems involved in cell division, cell migration, and cell morphogenesis. My research is focusing on how these cytoskeletons are controlled in cells. I have mainly studied a functional role of small GTPase-signaling pathway in those cellular events in yeast genetic system. Recently, I have gotten launched on analyzing interaction between cytoskeletal dynamics and membrane traffic in phagocytosis in ciliate, one of Protozoa, Tetrahymena thermophila.

NAKAYAMA, Takeshi (Institute of Biological Sciences)
Teaching: Plant Systematics Laboratory I ; Plant Systematic Laboratory II ; Laboratory and Field Studies in Marine Botany ; Laboratory and Field Studies in Plant Taxonomy ; Fundamental Biology, Laboratory I ; II ; III
Research: The diversity and phylogeny of algae, especially green algae. Ultrastructural and molecular characters are used to clarify the phylogenetic relationship of algae. Studying on the phylogenetic diversity of colorless protists.
Keywords: algae, phylogeny, protists, ultrastructure

OAMI, Kazunori (Institute of Biological Sciences)
Teaching: Animal Physiology, Laboratory ; Fundamental Biology Laboratory I ; II ; III ; Animal Physiology I
Research: Chemoreception, regulation of cell motility, membrane electrogenesis and related subjects.  Simple unicellular organisms (mainly Paramecium) are used in the experiments.  Conventional physiological techniques are employed.
Keywords: Paramecium, chemoreception, cell motility, ion channel, electrophysiology

OHASHI, Kazuharu (Institute of Biological Sciences)
Teaching: Animal Ecology, Laboratory ; Laboratory and Field Studies in Ecology 〔Terrestrial〕 ; Fundamental Biology, Laboratory I ; II ; III ; Plant Ecology I
Research: Understanding how and whether plants have evolved their floral traits to maximize their reproductive success, mediated through interactions with foraging behavior of animals such as pollinators (pollen vectors) and seed predators. Depending on the questions to be addressed, different approaches have been adopted; field observations or experiments, mathematical models, computer simulations, and laboratory experiments.

SASAKURA, Yasunori (Institute of Biological Sciences)
Teaching: Laboratory in Marine Animal Embryology ; Laboratory and Field Studies in Marine Biology ; Marine Course in Invertebrate Cell Biology ; Extension Course of Laboratory and Field Studies in Marine Biology
Research: Research on the mechanisms of development in the ascidian Ciona intestinalis. C. intestinalis is a suitable invertebrate chordate for foward genetics because of its determined genome sequences and short life span. We have established genetic techniques such as the germline transgenesis and insertional mutagenesis with a transposon Minos in this ascidian. With these techniques, the functions of genes during Ciona development will be revealed.

SAWAMURA, Kyoichi (Institute of Biological Sciences)
Teaching: Evolutionary Genetics, Laboratory ; Fundamental Biology, Laboratory I ; II ; III
Research: Genetic analysis of speciation by using interspecific introgression of Drosophila (D. ananassae/D. pallidosa and D. melanogaster/D. simulans): (1) premating isolation (sexual isolation caused by acoustic and chemical signals), (2) postmating isolation (hybrid sterility and inviability).

SUZUKI, Iwane (Institute of Biological Sciences)
Teaching: Metabolism and Physiological Chemistry I-II ; Metabolism and Physiological Chemistry, Laboratory
Research: My research topics are characterization of the mechanisms of signal perception in the photosynthetic organisms. To achieve these goals, I produced a mutant library of genes for signal sensors and transducers in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 and analyzed these phenotypes by means of molecular biology, biochemistry, and bioinformatics.

YAHATA, Kensuke (Institute of Biological Sciences)
Teaching:  Animal Systematics Laboratory I ; Laboratory and Field Studies in Marine Zoology ;  Laboratory and Field Studies in Animal Taxonomy ; Laboratory and Field Studies in Biology
Research:  Research on animal phylogeny, and in particular on the origin andevolution of the arthropod subphyla.  Approaches used involve comparative morphological analyses on the structure of the ovaries and on the modes of oogenesis. 
Keywords:  animal phylogeny, comparative morphology, Arthropoda, Myriapoda, ovary, oogenesis

YTOH, Nozomi (Institute of Biological Sciences)
Teaching: Biophysics, Laboratory ; Fundamental Biology, Laboratory I ; II ; III ; Biodiversity Informatics I ; III
Research: 1. Nomenclature and bioinformatics.  The names given to natural objects are organised hierarchically into groups (species into genera; genera into families; ...).  When a species is found in the wrong group it is reassigned, but making databases and other reference
material aware of that change and enabling them to use both the current name or the old name is not, at present, possible. Nomenclatural databases could offer considerable value as meta-data in defining relationships for generalising search criteria.  A flexible data structure is necessary to assist taxonomic works, and understanding of taxonomic consideration which is the foundation of our thought (not only in taxonomy but in a general sense). See http://www.nomencurator.org/ for project detail.  The first Ebbe Nielsen Prize awardee. 2. Molecular biodiversity in environments. Molecular techniques in biology such as PCR have enabled us to handle microorganisms in environments from which they have never been cultured and hence never considered in taxonomical contexts.  Because we do not know these organisms, we need a methodology to handle microbial biodiversity in environments without time consuming cloning and sequencing.  Biological acitivity assesment of these microbes in environments using molecular methods is also of interest.
Keywords: GBIF, CBD, biodiversity, bioinformatics, environmental molecular biology

HASHIMOTO, Yoshiteru (Institute of Applied Biochemistry)
Teaching: Applied Biochemistry,Laboratory II

 

Instructors, Research Associates

MARUO, Fumiaki (Institute of Biological Sciences)
Teaching: Fundamental Biology, Laboratory I ; II ; III
Research: Developmental biology, and in particular on regulatory mechanisms of stem cell proliferation and differentiation. The main experimental system is the germline stem cells in Drosophila gametogenesis. The neuronal stem cells in the Drosophila brain are also studied. Approaches used involve genetic, immunological and molecular biological techniques.
Keywords: Drosophila, stem cell, cell differentiation, germ cell, brain 

 

 

The International Student Exchange Committee
in the College of Biological Sciences
University of Tsukuba
July 11, 2006

Members in the College of Biological Sciences