Expanded Chemical Space Research Team

Developing out-of-the-box molecules that make breakthroughs in the fields of chemical biology and drug discovery in unexplored chemical space

Team Director

Kenichiro Itami Ph.D.

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1998: Ph.D. Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University
1998: Assistant Professor, Kyoto University
2005: Associate Professor, Nagoya University
2005: JST, PRESTO, Researcher
2008: Professor, Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University
2012: Director, Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (ITbM), Nagoya University
2012: Principal Investigator, ITbM, Nagoya University (-current)
2013: Research Director, JST-ERATO Itami Molecular Nanocarbon Project
2019: Joint Appointment Research Fellow, Institute of Chemistry, Academia Sinica, Taiwan (-current)
2024: Chief Scientist, Molecule Creation Laboratory, RIKEN (-current)
2025: Team Leader, Expanded Chemical Space Research Team, RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science (-current)

Main Research Fields :	Chemistry
Related Research Fields :	Engineering / Biological Sciences / Biology / Agricultural sciences / Medicine, dentistry, and pharmacy / Synthetic organic chemistry / Molecular functional materials / Chemical biology
Keywords :	Molecular nanocarbons / Organic electronics / Bioactive molecules / Precision synthesis
Strategic Program :	Material circulation / Catalysis

Outline

We will make breakthroughs in the fields of chemical biology and drug discovery through the discovery and development of biofunctional molecules that overturn conventional wisdom in unexplored chemical spaces, thereby contributing to the realization of planetary health. We will construct new and expanded chemical spaces that are not based on conventional empirical rules, both synthetically and theoretically, and develop technologies to enhance the functions of plants, animals, and microorganisms and to produce useful substances in a sustainable manner.