2021/12/13	Professor Tomohiko Ohwada of this laboratory will be awarded the 2022 Society Award of the Pharmaceutical Society of Japan for his "Findings of nitrogen-atom-based chemical species showing bond activation". Professor Ohwada's achievements include the discovery of amides and nitrosamines that cause nitrogen pyramids, the elucidation of the involvement of neighboring groups in nitrogen cations, and the development of a new class of nitrogen-containing carbocation species. Professor Ohwada has been interested in new chemical phenomena, especially the activation of chemical bonds containing nitrogen atoms, and has discovered a chemical bond with new properties. This discovery has unexpectedly led to the creation of functional substances, especially molecules with biological activity. The Pharmaceutical Society of Japan (PSJ) Award is an award given to researchers who have made significant contributions to academic progress in the world through research achievements that are worthy of representing the society in basic and applied pharmaceutical sciences. It is the most prestigious award of the Pharmaceutical Society of Japan.NEW Related HP of the Pharmaceutical Society of Japan (English page) https://www.pharm.or.jp/eng/news/news_20211201518.html
2019/07/29	We modeled the building blocks of the protein structure that causes Alzheimer's disease, amyloid beta sheets. Our calculations revealed that some atoms too far apart to bond were still in each other's electron neighborhoods. This result was published in Scientific Reports on July 24, 2019. University of Tokyo made a press release on July 24, 2019. https://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/focus/en/press/z0508_00064.html
2019/03/04	We found a lactam amide system (cyclic amide system) in which the amide can rotate through 360 degrees. See the detail in the following Web page of the University of Tokyo: English　https://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/focus/en/articles/z0508_00090.html Japanese　https://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/focus/ja/articles/z0508_00089.html Link to the original paper
2017/08/21	We reconfirmed that molecular simulations are powerful tools to provide conceptual insight about interactions between membrane protein and lipid molecules. See Structural insights into ligand recognition by the lysophosphatidic acid receptor LPA6 Nature, 548, 356-360 (17 August 2017). doi:10.1038/nature23448 See also the importance of hydrophobic shape of lipid mediator for binding to GPCR J. Med. Chem., 2017, 60 (14), pp 6384-6399.
2017/07/10	June 13, 2017- We welcome Vivian Ho (Edinburgh, UK) and Jinhee Lee (Palm Beach Atlantic, USA) as summer interns.
2016/07/11	late June -early July, 2016 Kim, Erika and Amy joined in the lab as summer interns. Welcome all and enjoy Tokyo life, together with doing some research projects.
2015/04/13	Dr. Hiroak Kurouchi (as of April 1, 2015) was awarded　“Best Presentation Award”　in the 135th annual meeting of the Pharmaceutical Society of Japan at Kobe (March 26-28, 2015).