Our laboratory, located in the Center for Intractable Diseases and Immunogenomics, aims to promote patient-oriented and clinically oriented drug discovery research centered on immunological studies for infectious diseases and intractable cancers. By making full use of the high-level immunological analysis platform, which is one of the strengths of our laboratory, we aim to elucidate immune responses that show diverse phenotypes in each disease using non-human primate and human clinical specimens, and to develop new vaccines and immunotherapies in the future.

Our research on infectious diseases includes both chronic infectious disease-causing viruses such as HIV and HBV and acute infectious disease-causing viruses such as influenza viruses and novel coronaviruses, and we are conducting research by comparing non-human primate monkey models with human clinical specimens. In particular, we have accumulated unparalleled know-how, antibody libraries, and data on high-level immunological analysis techniques using monkey specimens, and our partnership with the Primate Medical Research Center, of which the Institute is a proud member, provides an environment in which we can maximize the utility of nonhuman primates as non-clinical models. Specifically, for chronic infectious diseases, we are working on the development of novel immunotherapies for HIV-1, HBV, and HTLV-1 that will lead to functional cures. As for acute infectious diseases, we are focusing on vaccine development research, always trying to incorporate new modalities. In particular, we are currently focusing on the development of new coronavirus vaccines and universal influenza vaccines, and are advancing our research with an eye toward early commercialization.

As for cancer-related research, we are conducting research aimed at developing novel cancer immunotherapy and therapeutic cancer vaccines for refractory cancers such as pancreatic cancer. The prognosis for pancreatic cancer is extremely poor, with an overall five-year survival rate of less than 10%. In this regard, we are using state-of-the-art high-parameter flow cytometers and scRNAseq to evaluate immune responses from multiple perspectives. We are conducting basic research to discover biomarkers that reflect cancer pathology, to find effective cancer-specific immune response, to establish an early diagnosis system, and to construct new therapeutic strategies. In addition, in order to conduct research aimed at returning the results to clinical practice, we conduct research focusing on clinical specimens and actively collaborate with various clinical institutions, including the Osaka International Cancer Center, which is one of the leading high-volume centers in Japan.

We are always looking for post-doctoral fellows, graduate students, technical assistants, and collaborators. In all of our research themes, we always keep practical application in mind and promote industry-academia collaboration with various pharmaceutical companies. We believe that it is possible for us to experience a part of the practical application process of how academia and pharmaceutical companies collaborate to advance drug discovery research. We hope to nurture researchers who can constantly communicate their research to the world, and we encourage them to actively participate in joint research projects in Japan and abroad, including support for study abroad, so that they can play an active role on the international stage in the future. Project leader Yamamoto is also an invited professor at Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine (doctoral course) and Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences (master's and doctoral courses), and can also accept graduate students through the cooperative graduate school system (see here for details). If you are interested in any of the above themes and would like to work on it with enthusiasm, please feel free to visit our laboratory.