Suzuki Laboratory Students Win Awards
- November 18, 2025
At the 20th Biomineralization Workshop, Yuto Namikawa, a student from Professor Suzuki’s laboratory,
received the Oral Presentation Award. In addition, Sarina Ogawa and Hiroki Yamane were awarded the Poster
Presentation Award for their contributions.
Mini-Symposium on Carbonate Biology
- November 14, 2025
The 20th Biomineralization Workshop was held at the Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, The University
of Tokyo, on November 13–14, 2025. As part of the workshop, a mini-symposium on carbonate biology was
conducted. Presentations were given by Associate Professor Okumura, Professor Suzuki, Associate Professor
Yasumoto, and
Associate Professor Tanaka from each group, and the general discussion session featured lively exchanges of
ideas.
The 54th Annual Meeting on Crystal Growth
- November 12, 2025
The 54th Annual Meeting on Crystal Growth was held at the Kanazawa Chamber of Commerce and Industry Hall.
Associate Professors Kawano and Yamazaki organized a symposium titled "Crystal Growth of Carbonates in
Nature."
The 98th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Biochemical Society
- November 2, 2025
The 98th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Biochemical Society was held at the Kyoto International Conference
Center. Professor Suzuki delivered an invited lecture titled, "Exploring the Mechanisms of Carbonate
Formation by Organisms Contributing to the Earth's Carbon Cycle: Can We Control Them at Will?"
Franco-Japanese Workshop on Metallomics
- October 27, 2025
The Franco-Japanese Workshop on Metallomics was held at the École Normale Supérieure in France. Professor
Suzuki delivered an invited lecture titled, "Biomineralization of Calcium Carbonate in Invertebrates."
Special Issue on Carbonate Biology Published
- October 22, 2025
A special issue related to carbonate biology, compiled by Professor Suzuki, has been published. The issue
appeared in the November edition of Agri-Bio (published on October 20), titled "Special Feature:
Biomineralization and the Carbon Cycle."
Deep-Sea Coral Cultivation Experiment
- October 13, 2025
At the laboratory of Assistant Professor Sentoku at the University of the Ryukyus, an experiment on the
cultivation
of deep-sea corals is currently underway. After the cultivation period, the coral skeletons will be analyzed
by the Environmental Science group, and discussions on the calcification mechanisms will be conducted.
JAMSTEC Members Visit The University of Tokyo
- October 10, 2025
Researchers from JAMSTEC visited the University of Tokyo for in-person discussions and
hands-on work, which helped move the research project forward.
Professor Suzuki to Speak at One Earth Guardians Public Symposium
- October 10, 2025
Professor Suzuki will be speaking at the One Earth Guardians Public Symposium, held at
The University of Tokyo on November 6. His lecture is titled, "Can the Beauty of Pearls Save the World!? –
Biomineralization and Carbonate Biology." The symposium will be conducted in a hybrid format, allowing
participation both on-site and online.
Suzuki Laboratory Student Wins Award
- October 9, 2025
At the 74th Annual Meeting of the Japan Society for Analytical Chemistry, Satsuki Nagao, a student from
Professor
Suzuki’s laboratory, and Assistant Professor Yugo Kato presented their research. Nagao received the Young
Researcher Poster
Award.
Nagao et al.: "Visualization of Proton Dynamics in Shell Calcification Using pH Imaging"
Kato et al.: "Evaluation of Elemental Dynamics and Carbon Fixation in Calcifying Organisms Using Multimodal
Analytical Approaches"
Meeting
- October 9, 2025
A meeting on carbonate biology was held to discuss ongoing research and future plans in the field.
Yume Navi Live 2025
- October 9, 2025
Professor Suzuki gave a lecture titled "Research on Pearl Biomineralization" at the online joint college guidance event Yume Navi Live 2025, held for high school students on October 4–5, 2025.
Geochemical Society of Japan
- September 24, 2025
The Geochemical Society of Japan was held at Tohoku University in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. From Environmental Science group, Associate Professor Nishida, Kubota and Ariga from JAMSTEC, and Lecturer Asanuma participated in the event.
Invited Lecture by Associate Professor Kawano
- September 21, 2025
Associate Professor Jun Kawano from Hokkaido University delivered an invited lecture at the 24th American Conference on Crystal Growth and Epitaxy (ACCGE-24). His talk, titled "Visualization of pH and Ion Concentration Distributions in Crystal Growth and Dissolution Processes," focused on visualizing the fundamental chemical changes underlying crystal formation.
The 2025 Annual Meeting and General Assembly of the Mineralogical Society of Japan
- September 14, 2025
Associate Professors Kawano, Okumura, and Assistant Professor Motai from the Carbonate Biology participated in the 2025 Annual Meeting and General Assembly of the Mineralogical Society of Japan, held at Yoshida Campus, Yamaguchi University, from September 10–12, 2025.
BIOMIN2025
- September 9, 2025
https://biomin2025.net.technion.ac.il/
Date: Monday, March 16 – Friday, March 20, 2026
Location: CRTD – Zentrum für Regenerative Therapien, TU Dresden, Germany
Financial support is available for students and early-career researchers, such as postdoctoral fellows, who
will participate in this international conference.
For more details, please see the information provided
here.
Registration Open for the Biomineralization Workshop
- September 9, 2025
Workshop Dates: Thursday, November 13 – Friday, November 14, 2025
Please submit your presentation application by filling out the required information in this Google Form.
Registration deadline: Thursday, October 30, 2025 – all participants are required to register.
Presentation application & submission deadline: Friday, October 10, 2025, 17:00 JST.
For more details, please visit the official website.
Invited Lecture by Professor Suzuki
- September 8, 2025
Professor Suzuki delivered an invited lecture titled "Carbonate Biology – From Molecular Mechanisms of Biomineralization to Applications" at the 38th Tokyo Meeting of the Japanese Society for Microbial Ecology, held at Tokyo University of Science from September 7–10, 2025.
Featured in the Yomiuri Shimbun
- September 1, 2025
Associate Professor Taiga Okumura (Waseda University)’s biomineral research was featured in the Yomiuri
Shimbun. His research clarifies how organic matter contributes to calcium
carbonate formation in shells and corals, with potential applications for tackling CO₂-related
environmental challenges. It also pushes the boundaries of atomic-scale observation. Read the full article
here.
Biomineralization Workshop
- August 29, 2025
The 20th Biomineralization Workshop will be held on Thursday–Friday, November 13–14, 2025, at the
Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo. A mini-symposium on "Carbonate Biology"
will also be featured.
Presentation Submission Deadline: Friday, October 10, 2025
Participant Registration Deadline: Thursday, October 30, 2025
Financial support for travel is available for early-career researchers! For more details, please check here.
Assistant Professor Araki Visits JAMSTEC
- August 25, 2025
Assistant Professor Araki from the Materials Science group (Kanazawa University) visited JAMSTEC to hold
discussions with the Ecological Science group. They exchanged views on the diverse structures of
foraminiferal shells.
The 2025 Annual Meeting of the Japanese Proteome Society
- August 8, 2025
Professor Suzuki delivered an invited lecture titled "Proteome of Non-Model Animals – Examples of Biomineralization Research" at the 2025 Annual Meeting of the Japanese Proteome Society, held from August 6–8, 2025. In addition, graduate student Keisuke Oshima, supervised by Professor Suzuki, presented in the Young Researcher Oral Presentation Award session.
Press Release Announcement
- August 7, 2025
A novel protein, Twip1, which controls twinning, a type of crystal defect in calcium carbonate, has been
discovered. The molecular mechanism underlying the formation of high-density twinned structures has been
clarified. Twip1 can induce aragonite twinning at precise locations, providing insights for the development
of future high-performance biomaterials. For more details, please see here.
Invited Lecture by Professor Suzuki
- July 30, 2025
Professor Suzuki delivered an invited lecture titled "Bioactive Molecules of Biomineralization" at a seminar and discussion session in the field of biomaterials held at Okayama University.
Press Release Announcement
- July 18, 2025
Doctoral student Ando, together with Associate Professor Nishida and colleagues from Nishida’s laboratory,
had their research on radiocarbon featured in a press release. By analyzing radiocarbon isotopes in fish
otoliths (ear stones), which are composed of calcium carbonate, they developed a method to estimate fish
energy consumption with high precision. For more details, please see here.
Interactive Initiatives
- July 16, 2025
In the Academic Transformation B project on "Carbonate Biology," interactive initiatives have been launched
to convey the specialized research of each group to society and educational settings in an accessible
manner. The facilitator for this effort is Professor Koichi Watanabe, in charge of STEAM and Director of the
Institute for Regional Innovation through the Arts at Fukushima University.
This initiative is an important step for nurturing next-generation researchers.
Invited Lecture by Professor Suzuki
- July 8, 2025
Professor Suzuki delivered an invited lecture titled "Carbonate Biology: From the Fundamentals of Biomineralization to Applied Research" at the 2025 Joint Summer School on Biofunctional Chemistry, Bioinorganic Chemistry, and Life Metal Science, held at the Okinawa Prefectural Industrial Support Center.
Assistant Professor Chitoku Receives an Award
- June 30, 2025
Researchers in the field of carbonate biology were recognized at the 2025 Annual Meeting of the
Paleontological Society of Japan.
Assistant Professor Chitoku received the Academic Award for her
research on the evolutionary paleobiology of corals, focusing on their growth patterns, functional
morphology, and
environmental adaptations.
Assistant Professor Chitoku’s Laboratory Website "Coral Time"
Charrieau et al. (2023) received the Paleontological Society of Japan Paper Award for their peer-reviewed
article. For more details, please see here.
High School Students Visit the Laboratory
- June 17, 2025
Students from Professor Suzuki’s alma mater visited the university and had the opportunity to experience
research in the field of carbonate biology firsthand.
Coordinator Group Meeting Held
- June 17, 2025
A coordinator group meeting was held, bringing together participating researchers under the leadership of
the group leaders. The latest information and updates were exchanged.
Meeting
- June 6, 2025
A research meeting was held.
pH Imaging Experiments on Calcifying Organisms
- June 4, 2025
Members of Professor Suzuki’s laboratory in the field of carbonate biology visited JAMSTEC and conducted pH
imaging experiments on calcifying organisms.
The 25th Annual Meeting of the Marine Biotechnology Society
- May 29, 2025
A student from the Yasumoto Laboratory gave a presentation at the 25th Annual Meeting of the Marine
Biotechnology Society titled “Examining Whether Juvenile Coral Skeleton Formation Involves CO₂ Release.” The
presentation suggested that CO₂ may not be released during coral calcification.
Biomineralization Exhibit
- May 27, 2025
On May 24–25, a biomineralization exhibit was held at the University of Tokyo’s Yayoi Campus as part of a
research showcase by the carbonate biology.
Suzuki Laboratory Student Wins Award
- May 25, 2025
Keisuke Oshima, a graduate student in the Suzuki Laboratory, received the Outstanding Oral Presentation Award at the 25th Annual Meeting of the Marine Biotechnology Society held on May 24–25, 2025.
Joint Meeting Held
- May 22, 2025
Ecological Science group (A03) and Environmental Science group (A04) held a joint meeting, exchanging
updates on their
recent work and discussing each group’s interests, methods, and sample characteristics.
Suzuki Laboratory Student Wins Award
- May 16, 2025
Yuto Namikawa, a graduate student in the Suzuki Laboratory, was awarded the Excellent Poster Prize at the 4th Integrated Biometal Sciences Symposium (May 15–16, 2025).
The kickoff meeting for the Academic Transformation B: Carbonate Biology Project was held!
- Date:
- May 8, 2025
The kickoff meeting was held at the Nakajima Memorial Hall in the Food Science Building, Faculty of Agriculture, The University of Tokyo. Conducted in a hybrid format via Zoom and in person, it brought together all members involved in the project, including the invited advisory professors, to confirm the overall direction of the project and share each member’s research focus.
