Institute for Advanced Biosciences

Institute for Advanced Biosciences. The Institute for Advanced Biosciences is a premier research center dedicated to pioneering work in systems biology and omics technologies. Established as part of Keio University, it operates from the Shonan Fujisawa Campus in Japan. The institute is globally recognized for its development of advanced analytical platforms and its contributions to understanding complex biological systems.

History

The institute was founded in 2001 under the leadership of Masaru Tomita, a prominent figure in the field of systems biology. Its creation was part of a strategic initiative by Keio University to become a world leader in the emerging interdisciplinary biosciences. Initial research focused heavily on metabolomics and the comprehensive analysis of yeast as a model organism. The institute's early work laid the groundwork for its signature technology, the Capillary Electrophoresis-Mass Spectrometry platform, developed in collaboration with Agilent Technologies and Human Metabolome Technologies.

Research and facilities

Core research at the institute spans genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics, integrating these data through sophisticated bioinformatics and computational modeling. A flagship facility is the world's first Single Cell Omics analysis center, enabling precise measurement at the individual cell level. The institute houses state-of-the-art equipment for mass spectrometry, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and next-generation sequencing. Major projects include the E-Cell Project for computer simulation of whole-cell models and the Yokohama Project for environmental metabolomics. Research extends to medical applications for diseases like cancer and diabetes, as well as agricultural biotechnology.

Key personnel

The institute is directed by its founder, Masaru Tomita, a professor at Keio University and a fellow of the International Society for Computational Biology. Other principal investigators include Eiichiro Fukusaki, an expert in metabolic engineering, and Hirotada Mori, known for his work on the Escherichia coli genome. The research teams comprise scientists from diverse fields such as computational biology, analytical chemistry, and molecular biology. The institute has also hosted numerous visiting researchers from institutions like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory.

Collaborations and partnerships

The institute maintains extensive collaborative networks with academic, governmental, and industrial partners globally. It has long-standing research agreements with Agilent Technologies and Human Metabolome Technologies for analytical instrument development. Within Japan, it collaborates closely with RIKEN, the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, and Kyoto University. International partnerships include joint projects with the University of California, San Diego, the University of Oxford, and the Max Planck Society. The institute also engages in public-private partnerships with companies in the pharmaceutical and food technology sectors.

Notable achievements and discoveries

The institute is renowned for developing the high-throughput Capillary Electrophoresis-Mass Spectrometry platform, a gold standard in metabolome analysis. It played a pivotal role in the Human Metabolome Project, contributing to the identification of thousands of human metabolites. Researchers achieved the first complete computer simulation of a whole-cell model of Mycoplasma genitalium, a landmark in systems biology. The institute's work on single-cell analysis has provided groundbreaking insights into cellular heterogeneity in cancer and stem cell populations. Its contributions to synthetic biology and metabolic engineering have been recognized through awards like the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Prize.

Category:Research institutes in Japan Category:Keio University Category:Systems biology Category:Organizations established in 2001