The Advanced Co-creation Platform

The ExCELLS aims to answer the fundamental question “What is life?” which all humans share. For achieving this aim, the center has established the Advanced Co-creation Platform as a project to develop advanced life science research. As part of this project, the faculty members affiliated with the center and researchers from external research institutions form a research team to work on a given co-creation research question. This is called the ExCELLS Project Research.

Exploration of the Boundary between Matter and Life

Team Principal Investigator

MURATA, Kazuyoshi
Project Professor

Material-Life Boundary Research Group

 

Project Outline

The ExCELLS project research entitled “Exploration of the Boundary between Matter and Life” was launched in FY2022. This project will observe the interactions between organisms and viruses living in extreme environments and the morphology, function, and dynamics of molecular complexes related to environmental responses, in order to elucidate the essential or minimal mechanisms and principles necessary to maintain biological functions, and will conduct research for a systematic understanding of the boundary between matter and life.

Publicly Invited Research Group

Spatiotemporal atlas of dynamic structure and function of organelles

Team Principal Investigator

SHIINA, Nobuyuki
Associate Professor

Dynamic Molecular Neurobiology Group

 

Project Outline

The ExCELLS project research “Spatiotemporal atlas of dynamic structure and function of organelles” promotes organelle research, which is expanding with the recent identification of membraneless organelles. We aim to elucidate the organization of membrane and membraneless organelles, as well as their reorganization, dynamics conversion, and functional regulation by various cues.

Publicly Invited Research Group

Simulation of Living Systems 

Team Principal Investigator

AOKI, Kazuhiro
Professor (adjunct)

Quantitative Biology Group

 

Project Outline

The ExCELLS project research “Simulation of Living Systems”aims to reconstruct living systems on a computer and understand them as a system to answer questions such as how the proliferation rate of cells is determined, how cells cooperate with surrounding cells to control and optimize the remodeling of tissues and organs, whether life and death can be defined, and what the dormant state is.

Publicly Invited Research Group

  • MORIYA Sub Team
  • HIMEOKA Sub Team
  • HONDA Sub Team

Creation of Neo-Life Forms

Team Principal Investigator

OKAMOTO, Yasunori
Associate Professor

Designer Biomolecular Chemistry Group

 

Project Outline

The ExCELLS project research “Creation of Neo-Life Forms”, aims at developing neo-life forms exhibiting higher-order functions, which nature has not evolved, by using engineered or abiological biomolecules and designed biomolecular systems. This research aims at 1) establishing design methods for biomolecules with tailored functions, 2) exploring yet-to-be-discovered biomolecules, 3) designing molecular systems comprised of biomolecules, and 4) developing methodologies for  installation of the designed biomolecular systems within cells and organisms.

Publicly Invited Research Group

  • MATSUO Sub Team
  • SAITO Sub Team
  • MITO Sub Team
  • SUZUKI Sub Team
  • KAMIYA Sub Team
  • MATSUBAYASHI Sub Team