Professor
Masayasu Taki

CV

Masayasu Taki graduated from Doshisha University in 1997 and received his Ph.D. in Engineering from Osaka University under the supervision of Prof. Shunichi Fukuzumi in 2002. From 2002 to 2003, he conducted postdoctoral research as a JSPS research fellow in the group of Prof. Thomas V. O’Halloran at Northwestern University, where he launched his career in fluorescence imaging, focusing on the development of ratiometric fluorescent probes for detecting zinc ions in biological systems. Following this, he then continued his work as a JSPS Fellow at Osaka City University with Prof. Shinobu Itoh. In 2004, he was appointed as an Assistant Professor at Kyoto University (Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies and Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies). In 2014, he joined the Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (ITbM) at Nagoya University as a Designated Associate Professor (Yamaguchi group), concurrently affiliated with the Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science. In 2024, he was promoted to a full Professor at Gifu University, where he leads a research group at the Institute for Glyco-core Research (iGCORE).
His research field is chemical biology, with a particular focus on the rational design and synthesis of functional fluorescent probes for visualizing dynamic molecular events in living cells. He has developed a diverse range of molecular imaging tools featuring high target specificity, exceptional photostability, and environmental responsiveness. These probes are applied in combination with advanced imaging platforms such as fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM), super-resolution microscopy (SRM), and near-infrared (NIR) imaging. His work has enabled high-resolution, real-time visualization of lipid metabolism, membrane contact sites, and organelle dynamics, offering new insights into fundamental cellular processes and disease mechanisms.