GR ADUATE SCHOOL OF

Life SCIENCEDivision of Life Science
Transdisciplinary Life Science Course
Biosystems Science Course
Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Science Course

Division of Soft Matter
Division of Clinical Pharmacy

Messagefrom the Dean

Masakane Yamashita / Dean
Graduate School of Life Science

Hokkaido University has a longstanding history and has been dedicatedmeaningful contributions to the continued development of life sciences.

to the education of students with global perspectives for nearly 140

Following scientific training at Hokkaido University, many graduatesyears. The Graduate School of Life Science was established in 2006 tocontinue their careers at academic institutions, including universities andfoster the development of students with multi-disciplinary views beyond

diverse industries such as food, medical, pharmaceutical, chemical,

the conventional boundaries of life sciences.

environmental, educational, and engineering companies.

At the Graduate School of Life Science, students are taught by faculty

We welcome students from all over the world into our graduate

members from five separate faculties (the Faculty of Science, Faculty of

pro gram and of fer various scholarship oppor tunities for

Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Advanced Life Science, Researchinternational students who wish to study at the Hokkaido University

Faculty of Agriculture, and Faculty of Medicine) and seven research(https://www.global.hokudai.ac.jp/prospective-students/scholarships/).

institutions (the Institute of Low Temperature Science, Research Institute

Please review our laboratory list and contact faculty members at any

for Electronic Science, Institute for Genetic Medicine, Institute fortime to obtain more detailed information pertaining to our educational

Catalysis, Hokkaido University Hospital, National Institute ofand scholarship programs. We encourage you to join the Graduate

Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, and National Institute

School of Life Science, learn advanced life sciences with us, and enjoy

for Materials Science). It offers innovative graduate programs designed

life on our beautiful campus in Sapporo, Japan!

to help students acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to make

Organization

The Graduate School of Life Science has three divisions (Life Science, Soft Matter and Clinical Pharmacy) and three courses (Transdisciplinary Life Science,
Biosystems Science and Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Science). Students can choose a division and/or course according to their research interests.

Transdisciplinary
Life Science Course

Biosystems Science
CourseDivision of Life Science

Division of Life Science

Faculty of
Advanced Life Science

Faculty of
ScienceResearch Institute forElectronic Science
National Instituteof Advanced
Industrial Scienceand Technology

National Institutefor Materials
ScienceResearch
Faculty ofAgriculture

Institute for
Genetic Medicine

Research Institutefor Electronic
Science

Institute of
Low Temperature
Science

Biomedical andPharmaceutical
Science Course

Division ofSoft Matter

Division ofClinical Pharmacy

Faculty of
Advanced Life Science

Faculty of
Pharmaceutical Sciences

Division of Life Science

Faculty of
Pharmaceutical Sciences
Institute for Catalysis

Research Institutefor Electronic
ScienceFaculty of
Medicine

Hokkaido
University
Hospital

National
Institute forMaterials ScienceTransdisciplinary Life Science Course
Division of Life ScienceAs a prerequisite for the course,
candidates are expected to havelearned not only biology but also
the basic natural sciences such as
chemistry, physics, and mathematics
during their undergraduate years.
To cultivate the next generationof leaders with innovative ideas
suppor ted by solid bac kgroundknowledge, this course provides
s t r u c t u r e d a n d c o m p r e h e n s i ve
education in the life science fields.
This educational program introduces
four new essential life science study
areas that were difficult to cover inprevious curricula.

Research Fields and Laboratories

This course will help students develop
research skills to investigate thenature of life from new perspectives
based on a foundation in physics,
chemistry, and biology. The course isdesigned to give individuals the life
sciences knowledge and practicalskills to have an active role in various
industries.

Website https://life.sci.hokudai.ac.jp/en/tl/
Bioinformation and
Molecular Sciences

Functional andRegulatory Life Science(Cooperative Education)
Frontier Biomaterials Science

Genome-based research, including structure andfunction analysis of biological molecules, super-molecularcomplexes and organelles, has made it possible toconsider life as a network of bio-functional molecules.
Furthermore, it is essential to establish a new researcharea of "Bioinformation and Molecular Sciences" byfusing various research fields. Students in this field will
do research on revealing life phenomena using genetic
information, X-ray structural biology, cellular biological
techniques, and molecular cell biology.

The biopathways from translation of genetic information
to posttranslational protein modifications form a highly
complicated system that is regulated by a variety of
biomolecules. Disruption of this sophisticated biologicalsystem causes various diseases. We also have immune
systems to protect against pathological injury andto repair or regenerate damaged tissues to restore
normal function. In this field, you can learn andstudy complex living systems using a systematic andcomprehensive approach that utilizes experiments
at the molecular and cellular levels to specific tissues
and animal models. A comprehensive study of themolecular mechanisms that maintain and regulate
complicated biological functions can be achievedby means of organic synthesis and even genetic
engineering, including emerging genome editing
techniques. Conducting this research will give you
the opportunity to master advanced strategies andmethodologies needed in the drug discovery andbiomedical fields.

The educational objective is to develop knowledge andexperience in the fields of life science, materials
science, and nanotechnology. The National Institutefor Materials Science (NIMS) is the core researchorganization for the fields of materials scienceand nanotechnology in Japan. The Institute is highly
experienced in the creation of metals, and inorganicand organic materials, as well as the nanofacturing ofmaterials. In the field of Frontier Biomaterials Science,
the Institute will take full advantage of these skills
to analyze phenomena such as the impact ofnano-microstructures on cell differentiation and function
at the molecular level and to control cell function andsense the state of cells, using biomolecules such asproteins, peptides, and oligonucleotides.

Biomaterials Science
In this field, students learn about the structures andcharacteristics of the substances that form life, as wellas the chemical interactions and structures that are
essential to biological functions. Students also focus on
how these chemicals control the biological responses
to the external environments. Moreover, they will use
state-of-the-art technology to learn about drug discovery,
functional foods, and the creation of artificial functional
molecules. This field offers an overview of life from theperspective of material science based on chemistry andphysics.

Functional Cellular Sciences
All biological phenomena are caused by cellular activity.
In this field, students learn about cellular functions
through studying the molecular biology of internal andexternal cellular communication networks, interactions
among cells, biological functions, and control
mechanisms of the immune and nervous systems.
It is also aimed at analyzing the mechanism andmorphogenesis of stimulus reception and cellularresponses using cutting-edge biomolecular imaging
Efforts to clarify the cellular functions that support
biological complexity enables developments in disease
treatments.

(Cooperative Education)
Biomolecular Adaptation Science
Organisms produce various biomolecules that can beutilized for industrial and medicinal applications. To
practically design and construct such biomolecules,
students in this field learn both the basics andapplications of molecular biology, biochemistry, nucleic
acid engineering, photo-microscopy, and structural
biology using both NMR and X-ray approaches.
Specifically, our studies focus on the structure-function
relationship of different types of macromolecularantifreeze and regulatory mechanisms of functional
nucleic acids. We believe that your research experienceon such biomolecules at the nucleic acid, protein, andcellular levels will improve your expertise in life
science and will be indispensable for the advancementof science.

Graduate School of Life Science1Biosystems Science Course
Division of Life Science2

Graduate School of Life Science

Research Fields and Laboratories

Living organisms are dynamic systems inwhich a variety of organs, tissues, cells
and cellular molecules interact to form acomplex network. In Biosystems Science
Course, graduate students are provided
with tremendous opportunities to learn
about diverse formation of livingorganisms through knowledge on the
structure (morphology) and function(physiology) of these constituents. In
particular, this course will focus on themechanisms for maintaining thehomeostasis and the adaptive
modification of the cellular functions, aswell as on the principles for the evolutionof life. This course also promotes theintegrative studies of organisms and theircells, including the analysis of theindividual moleculesʼ dynamic behavior
in a spatiotemporal manner. In addition,
graduate students will learn
state-of-the-art methodologies andprinciples of microscopes, including
electron and confocal laser microscopy,
in order to master “the high resolution,
multi-dimensional bio-imaging system.”

Website http://www.lfsci.hokudai.ac.jp/bs/en/lab/Higher Order
Cellular Functions

Reproductive andDevelopmental Sciences

Cells of microorganisms, plants, and animals
display a variety of cellular functions, including
growth, polarity, morphology, movement,
adhesion. differentiation, and apoptosis. These
cellular functions play essential roles in higher
order events in life, and abnormality of themleads to diseases such as cancer. In order tounderstand higher order cellular functions, wehave to know functions of signaling proteins andhow these proteins are regulated in a whole cellsystem. We tackle problems in membrane
dynamics, plant morphology and development,
stress response, cancer, and neurodegeneration
using model organisms, plants, and animalmodels.

In general, an important goal of life science research is todetermine the factors that regulate the formation ofgerm cells and the generation of a new individual after
fertilization. Reproductive and developmental sciencehas two aspects: a basic science which pursues themechanisms that guarantee the continuity and diversity oflife, and an applied science which develops a technology
to artificially control reproduction and development.
In this course, students study the general mechanismsof germ cell formation and maturation, cell division
regulation, and differentiation in embryonic development.
The knowledge from this area of study can be applied
to various reproductive manipulations with direct life
consequences, such as in vitro fertilization, contraception,and the production of useful crops and animals. Currently,social interests in this academic field are extremely high,as represented by cloned animals and the regenerative
medicine among other examples.

Animal Behavior and
System Control
Animal behavior is causally linked with a varietyof nervous system functions, including sensory
integration, motor control, memory formation,
emotion, and decision making. In this researchgroup, insects and vertebrates (mainly birds) areused as subjects to study the organism-level
behavior and the underlying neural mechanisms.
Particular attention has been paid to ontogenetic
development of animal communication,system-level understanding of associative
learning, and the cellular computation responsible
for precise sensorimotor coordination. Students
will acquire leading-edge knowledge throughuse of state-of-the-art experimental techniques,
such as molecular biology, microscopic imaging,neurophysiology /anatomy, and a variety ofpsychological manipulations. This course will
also study the theoretical approaches to statisticalanalysis of behaviors and mathematicalmodeling of neural network.

Environmental Life Science
All living things are exposed to environmental stresses.
A solid understanding in the basic concepts ofenvironmental biology is achieved through the studiesof the physiological processes to avoid stress injury,
and the mechanisms for adapting and acclimating
to environmental stress. Lectures in this course will
focus on how living organisms sense and respond toenvironmental changes, which consequently lead to areconstitution of the organisms. The subjects coveredin this course will include: 1) the energy conversion
systems for photosynthesis and mass production; 2) the
metabolic regulation controlled by the functional
RNA species and the post-translational processes,
such as the ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation;and 3) the cellular regulations, such as cell division,
cell differentiation, and cell development triggeredby chromatin remodeling, gene regulation, andgrowth regulators.

Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Science Course
Division of Life Science

Website http://www.pharm.hokudai.ac.jp/en/index.php

In Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Science Course, there are three core divisions and one
center: the Molecular and Cellular Biological Sciences division, the Chemistry and Medicinal
Chemistry division, and the Biopharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmacy division, and theCenter for Research and Education on Drug Discovery. Each group consists of biologists,
physical chemists, organic chemists, and medicinal chemists. This courseʼs teaching staff
conducts collaborative projects within the course as well as with researchers at otherinstitutions and companies. Outstanding research projects include following: (1) analysis
of pathogenic mechanisms for brain-wasting diseases (e.g. Alzheimerʼs disease, Parkinsonʼsdisease), immune diseases (autoimmune diseases), infectious diseases (measles, herpes,
AIDS), and metabolic syndromes; (2) drug discovery for small molecules, biologics,
and vaccines; (3) the logical design of pharmacological activity compounds ; (4) the
development methodology for large scale synthesis; and (5) the development of a specificdrug delivery system for a pharmacological activity. The Center for Research and Education
on Drug Discovery was recently established in the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences tofacilitate academic drug discovery within the Hokkaido area. This center provides students
with an opportunity for practical research on drug development.

Research Groups and Laboratories“Innovative Genomics for Medicinal Science” is 21st century strategy for drug discovery. In
Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Science Course, a new educational program for training of
Ph.D. and Master Course students will be established based on the science and technologies
of innovative drug design, structural biology, and genomic drug discovery. In this program,students will be able to effectively contribute to modern life sciences and medicine. This
program discusses, at the molecular level, the relationship between the disruption of thegenetic network and diseases, protein structural analysis, and structure function. In addition,
the program also includes research to identify new target molecules, the molecular designand synthesis of drugs that act on these targets, the molecular mechanisms of the immune
system, and custom nanomedicine.

Molecular andCellular Biological Sciences
Biochemistry: Regulation of cellularfunctions by lipid molecules; RNA Biology:
Deciphering cellular and molecular processes
regulated by RNA molecules; Neuroscience:
Understanding the neuronal functions anddisorders; Immunology: Cellular andmolecular immunology; Biomolecular
Science: Protein science of host defense

Chemistry andMedicinal Chemistry
Natural Products Chemistry: Application of
bioactive natural products to biomedical andlife sciences; Fine Synthetic Chemistry:
Development of novel reactions directed
towards drug discovery, organic synthesis
developed by transition metals; Synthetic
and Industrial Chemistry: Syntheticorganic chemistry toward drug design anddevelopment; Organic Chemistry for
Drug Development: Rational design andefficient synthesis of drugs; Catalysis in
Organic Synthesis (at the Institute for
Catalysis): Development of novel catalysts
and catalytic reactions for synthesis of newmaterials including biologically active
substances

using nuclear medicine (PET, SPECT) andoptical imaging technologies; Innovative
Nanomedicine: Establishment of an
innovative drug delivery system targeted toblood vessels; Clinical Pharmaceutics
a n d T h e r a p e u t i c s : M e c h a n i s m s of
drug interactions and scientific to regulatory
approaches, including optimizing
and tailor-made pharmacotherapy;
Pathophysiology and Therapeutics:
Approach to pathophysiology of diseases
and clinical therapeutics; Pharmacokinetics:
Pharmacokinetics for suitable drug therapy

Center for Research and
Education on Drug Discovery
Low molecular weight compounds andbiologics for intractable diseases, as one ofsix core centers of “The Leading-edge
Research Infrastructure Program Compound
Library Center” supported by the Ministry of
Education, Culture, Sports, Science, andTechnology.

Biopharmaceutical
Sciences and Pharmacy
Pharmacology: Cellular and molecular
neuropharmacology; Molecular Design of
Pharmaceutics: Development of an
intracellular drug delivery system and its
application to nanomedicine; Molecular
Imaging: in vivo molecular imaging researchfor visualizing the biomarkers of the disease

Graduate School of Life Science3Division of Soft Matter
Website https://life.sci.hokudai.ac.jp/en/sm/

Soft matter is a general term for soft substances such as
polymers, gels, biological materials, etc. Soft matter has
many interesting behaviors and functions that so-called
hard matter, such as metals and ceramics, do not have.
Interesting behaviors arise from soft matter in ways thatcannot be predicted or are difficult to predict, directly fromits atomic or molecular constituents. This is often because
soft matter self-organizes into mesoscopic structures thatare much larger than the microscopic scale, and yet aremuch smaller than the macroscopic scale of the substance.
The properties and interactions of these mesoscopic structures
may determine the macroscopic behavior of the substance.
Soft matter is getting great attention as a growing field in
the 21st century where there is a possibility of inventing
brand new soft matter materials for various applications,from artificial tissues in the biomedical field to super-toughrubbers in industry.

4

Graduate School of Life Science

Research Fields and Laboratories

The Division of Soft Matter offers both a Master's andDoctoral course that provide systematic education on basic
knowledge related to scientific research of soft matter(physics, chemistry, biology) and its applied sciences(material science, life molecular science, biophysics, medicinal
chemistry, and functional science) for students who leadresearches and development of soft matter globally.

Soft Matter
Materials Science
In this field, we aim to create new soft
matter with a flexible, dynamic hierarchicalstructure, and discover unprecedented
functions by understanding the advanced
hierarchical structure and its functional
principles from the molecular levelup to the individual organism level inbiological systems. In addition, we aim to
actively cooperate with different fields,
including the medical field, to develop
high-performance soft matter suitable for
specific applications.

Biomolecular Soft Matter
Biopolymers such as proteins, peptides,a n d D N A a r e r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s o f soft
matter. For example, soft structural changesof polymer chains such as protein folding
and dynamics are closely related to theirfunctions. It is expected that this analysis is
crucial not only for the understanding of
natural soft matter but also for the creationof new types of soft matter. In this education
field, we analyze biomacromolecules using
various spectroscopic methods centered on
NMR spectroscopy, essential for molecular
structure and dynamics research, and train
researchers specializing in molecular
design.

Soft Matter Biophysics
Understanding biological phenomena such as
movement, proliferation, and morphogenesisof the cell, tissue, and individual isindispensable not only in biology but also
in biochemistry, physics, and mathematics.
While studying soft matter in the fieldofbiophysics, we aim to elucidate theuniversal principle behind diverse life
phenomena by making full use of physics
and mathematics. Specifically, cooperative
movements and three-dimensional
morphogenesis of cell populations, animal
behavioral studies of ameba and ciliates,
mechanical functions and network
formation of herbaceous trees, etc. arestudied. Our aim is to raise the next
generation of researchers in theint e r disciplinar y fie lds of biophysics
and mathematical biology.

Soft Matter Medical Science
Students acquire basic knowledge necessary
for the clinical application of soft matter,such as macromolecule synthesis hydrogels
by applying skills in biochemistry, molecularcell biology, and pathological analysis forstudying physiological activities and biologicalreactions of soft matter materials. In thisfield, we aim to raise personnel capable ofinterdisciplinary thinking and research thatcombines material science and medicine.
In addition, by carrying out animal
experiments and clinical research, we will
work in a position to bridge our research
towards clinical application, which willallow powerful development of soft mattermaterials in practical clinical applications.

(Cooperative Education)
Functional Soft Matter
This field aims to develop functional
molecular and polymeric ultimate-soft
matters such as optoelectronically-active
liquids, ionic liquids, and block copolymers.
These functional soft matters are designed

and synthesized towards applications inwearable-, stretchable- sensor, actuator,
and polymer-gels based cell culture
scaffold materials. National Institute forMaterials Science is the location to conduct
their experiments and offers students tohave multidisciplinary collaborations withmetals, inorganic, medical materials fields
and advanced nanotechnologies as well as
informatics.

Division of Clinical Pharmacy
Website https://www.pharm.hokudai.ac.jp/en/research_03.html
Departments

The Division of Clinical Pharmacy was establishedin close cooperation with the medical field, in order
to expand clinical and practical science-oriented
education and research in collaboration with life
science majors (Division of Life Science). The
Division of Clinical Pharmacy offers a four-year
doctoral degree program aimed at developing
highly-trained professionals who possess thepharmaceutical clinical abilities and expertisedemanded from society. Based on the practicalscience of pharmacy, this division aims to impartknowledge on pharmaceutical sciences that
contribute to public health and safety, andto provide a graduate education in which
students may cultivate a higher sense of ethics.
In addition to basic pharmaceutical theories andtechnologies, this divisionʼs students participate
in educational and research programs focused on
advanced clinical pharmaceutical knowledge andtechnology (i.e. development and evaluation ofadvanced drug treatments, medical systems,
regulatory sciences, etc.), which allow them todevelop the practical abilities needed to apply
their studies to clinical practices and to discoverand solve clinical issues in the medical field
through surveys and research.

Department ofClinical Pharmaceutics

drug monitoring, in which pharmacokinetic
variations related to changes in physiological
functions during pathological conditions anddrug interaction are considered. These programs
will aid in the deployment of clinical research
design and effective clinical pharmaceuticalresearch.

・Laboratory of Clinical Pharmaceutics andTherapeutics
Optimizing and customizing pharmacotherapy
・Laboratory of Pharmacokinetics
Pharmacokinetics for suitable drug therapy
・Laboratory for Molecular Design of
Pharmaceutics
Department of Pharmacotherapy
Development of intracellular drug delivery
and Clinical Informatics
systems and applications to nanomedicine
・Laboratory of Pathophysiology and・Department of Pharmacy, Hokkaido
Therapeutics
University Hospital
Approach to the pathophysiology of theClinical trials and optimal pharmacotherapy
disease and clinical therapeutics
In this field, students gain highly specialized ・Laboratory of Bioanalysis andMolecular Imaging
clinical pharmacy knowledge and skills needed
Molecular imaging research forfor medicine and information management.
pharmaceutical sciences
I n addition to experimental sciences, thisdepartmentʼs research includes medical systems
a n d p h a r m a c e u t i c a l r e g u l a t o r y s c i e n c e s Drug development begins with finding the targeted
designed to meet recent societal demands. One molecule to which medicine is applied. Animalof the research themes centers on therapeutic models of cancer and inflammatory diseases areused to clarify their mechanisms and verify
whether medicines will have an effect on these
diseases in humans. Also, it is important to develop
methods to diagnose these diseases at earlystage. This department conducts in vivo molecularimaging research for visualizing the biomarkersof the disease using nuclear medicine (PET,
SPECT) and optical imaging technologies.

Education Research Center for
Clinical Pharmacy
The Education Research Center for ClinicalPharmacy was established in April 2010 with theaim of fostering pioneering pharmacists who will
possess the skills and leadership necessary for
responding to societyʼs ever-growing needs andcontributing to a wide range of work fields. Thiscenter operates in accordance with the 2006
national educational reform of pharmaceuticalscience and seeks to enrich the education andresearch that takes place under this new scheme.

Graduate School of Life Science5

Useful Links

Step-by-step Guide To Entry

Admissions

You need to have completed Step 1 at least six months
prior to your intended enrollment !

http://www.lfsci.hokudai.ac.jp/en/

Faculty of Advanced Life Science
https://life.sci.hokudai.ac.jp/en/fa/

Faculty of Science
http://www.sci.hokudai.ac.jp/faculty/en/

STEP

1

Find a Supervisor

https://www.pharm.hokudai.ac.jp/en/

Graduate and research students conduct research under the guidance of a supervisor. To enter the
Graduate School of Life Science as a research or graduate student, you need to find a faculty member
who is willing to give you instruction on your research. Find a prospective supervisor from our website:

Hokkaido University

1.Graduate School of Life Science Website

Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences

https://www.global.hokudai.ac.jp/

http://www.lfsci.hokudai.ac.jp/en/
List of supervisors and research fields are available in the application guidelines

Related Graduate Schools

2.Hokkaido University Website(HU Researchers Database)https://researchers.general.hokudai.ac.jp/search/index.html?lng=en

Graduate School of Science

3.HUSCAP

http://www.sci.hokudai.ac.jp/graduateschool/en

http://eprints.lib.hokudai.ac.jp/dspace/

Graduate School of Chemical Sciences and Engineering
http://www.cse.hokudai.ac.jp/english/
STEP

2Contact
Office for International Academic Support,
Faculty of Science, Hokkaido University
Phone +81-11-706-2915 Fax +81-11-706-2907
E-mail: international@sci.hokudai.ac.jp

STEP

3

STEP

4

Faculty of
Pharmaceutical Sciences

Apply to the graduate school
You can check how to apply in the application guidelines. Applicants must pay the examination/application
fee at the time of application.
http://www.lfsci.hokudai.ac.jp/en/admission_information/

Take the entrance screening (For Residing Abroad)
Screening procedures for research students are conducted on the basis of documentation submitted
whilst screening procedures for graduate level students differ between each department.

Commence enrollment procedures
After passing the screening process, you will be required to submit necessary documentation, pay theentrance fee, and complete other necessary procedures to become enrolled.

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