Glyco-biochemistry lab (Kizuka lab) | Gifu University

Research Summary

To understand, visualize, and cure glycans

Our laboratory conducts biological studies on glycans (sugar chains). Virtually all cells in our bodies are covered with a lot of glycans, but their roles remain largely unclear.
We try to:

• Understand how glycans are synthesized in cells and what roles they play.
• Visualize where glycans exist in cells and organs.
• Cure glycan-related diseases by modulating glycan functions.

These three are our key concepts. Please see the research page for more details.

Our laboratory belongs to both iGCORE (Institute for Glyco-core Research) and the Department of Applied Bioscience and Chemistry (former Course of Molecular Life Science) in the Faculty of Applied Biological Sciences at Gifu University. iGCORE is a world-leading glycoscience research institute jointly established by Gifu University and Nagoya University. We are partially supported by the JST FOREST program, and we are also engaged in a national research project called the Human Glycome Atlas Project (HGA) funded by MEXT. We closely cooperate with the Systems Glycobiology Lab (Prof. Morihisa Fujita), the Cell Biophysics Lab (Prof. Kenichi Suzuki), the Hiromune Ando Lab, and the Glycoanalytical Chemistry Lab (Prof. Kazuki Nakajima) in iGCORE.