Message from the Director of ExCELLS
Director, ExCELLS
The Exploratory Research Center on Life and Living Systems (ExCELLS) was established as a research center built on shared research infrastructure, dedicated to advancing a fundamental understanding of life and uncovering its design principles through interdisciplinary integration. In recent years, rapid advances in cutting-edge measurement technologies and information science have significantly transformed the landscape of life science, calling for new research frameworks and organizational approaches that go beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries and individual laboratories.
Life is a dynamic system composed of multiple layers and elements, ranging from molecules to cells, organisms, and higher-order systems. Understanding such systems requires the interconnection of diverse research approaches. Through its open and collaborative framework, ExCELLS has cultivated a role as a “gathering place of knowledge,” bringing together diverse expertise and perspectives. Looking ahead, in the context of the growing momentum of AI for Science, we will further connect these elements in an organized manner and foster a research environment in which ideas stimulate one another, thereby accelerating the creation of new knowledge.
In addition, by strengthening shared research infrastructure and its sustainable operation, we will promote the circulation of knowledge and talent across institutions, enabling agile research beyond disciplinary and organizational boundaries.
The significance of ExCELLS lies in its role as an organizational response to the ongoing transformation of science itself.
As Director, I am committed to guiding ExCELLS through this important phase and to advancing its mission toward the next generation. I sincerely appreciate your continued support and collaboration.
Aim
ExCELLS aims to achieve an integrative understanding of living systems beyond reductionism utilizing large-scale data analyses and synthetic biological approaches. ExCELLS provides a unique platform for cross-disciplinary research in an inter-university, collaborative environment, using the “Observe, Read, and Create” approach.
Department of Creative Research
To develop innovative methods for observing dynamic behaviors of biomolecules in situ and for visualizing changes in quantities of various physical components in complex living systems
To develop theoretical and computational approaches to decode, interpret, and predict biological patterns from varying data
To understand the design principles of dynamically ordering, and robust systems in varying environment by creating experimental and computational living systems
Section for Exploration of Life in Extreme Environments
ExCELLS also explores living systems in extreme environments to elucidate original modes of living and adaptation strategies of organisms.