Principal Investigator, Associate Professor, Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS), Institute for Advanced Study, Kyoto University

Research Area: Material science; molecular self-assembly; protein engineering; structural biology

Award Citation: The AYSF Committee acknowledges his pioneer works in autonomous assembly of artificial structures with multiple molecular subunits and would like to support his exploration in applying this method to trap the transiently interacting proteins or their active form for structural analysis.

Bio: Daishi Fujita is a Principal Investigator and Associate Professor at the Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences at Kyoto University. He obtained his doctorate from The University of Tokyo in 2012 and subsequently held positions as a JSPS Postdoctoral Fellow and an Assistant Professor at The University of Tokyo. In 2016, he moved to the private sector with Mitsubishi UFJ Research & Consulting, before joining his current position at Kyoto University in April 2018. Dr. Fujita's research centers around the design and actual synthesis of molecular self-assembly systems. With a unique approach that leverages graph theory, he has gained recognition for controlling some of the world's most complex multicomponent self-assemblies. He has been recognized with several awards, including The Young Scientists' Award by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in 2023, Inamori Research Institute for Science Fellow in 2022, among others.While Dr. Fujita's past work has focused on chemistry and molecular self-assembly, his current interests extend to cellular phenomena, viewing them as intricate molecular self-assemblies. This shift in focus reflects his innovative approach to both chemistry and biology, uncovering new possibilities within life science research.

Personal Web: https://www.icems.kyoto-u.ac.jp/en/people/1428/