Ishigaki Lab, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Keio University School of Medicine

Our immune functions are determined by individual differences (polymorphisms) in genomic sequences. Recently, it has been revealed that specific polymorphisms are involved in the development of immune diseases, and genome-based drug discovery (genomic drug discovery) has gained attention. However, the immune system is extremely complex, and the immunological functions of these risk polymorphisms remain unclear, resulting in few successful cases of genomic drug discovery. Our laboratory aims to identify new drug targets through elucidating the functions of immune disease risk polymorphisms by utilizing cutting-edge experimental technologies such as genome editing, single-cell analysis, and multi-omics approaches.