latest update June 4, 2020
Welcome to the home page of
Department of Chemistry, Nara Medical University
The department of Chemistry has a history extending back to the establishment
of the graduate school in 1958. According to a historiography published
in 1995, “The Fifty Year History of Nara Medical University”, the first
Professor of Chemistry was Dr. Kenzo Torii (1958-1984), who was famous
for his research on adsorption of small molecules to human serum albumin
in aqueous media. The second professor, Dr. Keishi Shingu (1984-1993),
an authority on the stereochemistry of organic compounds, studied the in
vivo reaction profiles of asymmetric compounds. The third was Dr. Shiro
Tabata (1993-1999), who started lectures on glycochemistry. He worked on
the cloning of bone matrix proteins of osteoblast cells and on the design
of biomaterials for bone formation. Dr. Shigeyoshi Osaki (1999-2012) is the fourth professor, a well known professor at our university
because his study of the physicochemical properties of spider silk was
published in Nature and broadcast throughout the world. His other study
of collagen is important clinically. Now, in his capacity as an emeritus
professor, he continues his research at the Department of Dermatology,
Nara Medical University. Now I, Hiromi Sakai, have been appointed as the
fifth Professor of Chemistry on April 1, 2013. Based on polymer chemistry,
I have worked on artificial red cells (hemoglobin-vesicles) as a transfusion
altanative and oxygen therapeutics for over 20 years in addition to chemical
design, production method based on chemical engineering, physicochemical
analysis, and in vivo and in vitro studies through interdisciplinary and
international collaboration.
Our Department of Chemistry has shared an intimate relation with researchers
of clinical fields. We maintain this orientation and continue chemistry-based
research that benefits medical sciences. With respect to education, we
strive to provide opportunities for medical students to study chemistry,
which entails the fundamentals of all life sciences, particularly addressing
the relation with medical sciences.
Hiromi SAKAI, PhD (D.Eng.), PhD (D.Med.Sci.)
Professor of Chemistry, Nara Medical University