RESEARCH

The Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases was renewed and relaunched under a new leadership team
with the appointment of a new Professor in April 2026. Building on our long-standing research in retroviral
infections that cause AIDS and leukemia, we will continue to use this foundation while expanding our scope to
medically important infectious diseases. By leveraging the analytical platforms we have developed, we aim to
deepen our understanding of pathogen–host interactions and disease pathogenesis. Through collaborations with
researchers and clinicians inside and outside the university, in Japan and internationally, we strive to
generate breakthroughs that contribute to overcoming intractable diseases.

Moving forward, we will continue to advance retrovirology as the core of the laboratory while extending the
concepts and experimental platforms established in this field to other medically important infections, including
viruses, bacteria, and parasites. Our goal is to achieve an integrated understanding of the processes from
infection establishment to pathogenesis through the lens of pathogen–host interactions. We combine
state-of-the-art approaches—such as single-cell analysis, next-generation sequencing, and digital PCR—and place
strong emphasis on clinical translation, connecting basic discoveries to diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.

We will pursue breakthroughs that help overcome intractable diseases through close collaborations with
researchers and clinicians within and beyond Hokkaido University, in Japan and worldwide. We welcome students
and graduate students who wish to join the lab, as well as inquiries regarding collaborative research.

Competitive research funding

Japan Society for Promotion of Science【JSPS】

Yorifumi Sato
    • 2020-2022; Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B),PI
      「Elucidation of HTLV-1 pathogenesis by multidirectional and high-resolution research technique with longitudinal clinical samples」
    • 2018-2020; Fostering Joint International Research (B),PI
      「Dynamic evolution and different pathogenesis of HTLV-1 across multiple continents revealed by next generation sequencing technology」
    • 2017-2019; Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C),PI
      「HIV-1 transcriptome analysis」
    • 2014-2016; Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C),PI
      「HTLV-1 proviral research for the control of ATL」
Kenji Sugata
  • 2021-2023; Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up,PI
    「Detection of surrogate markers in HTLV-1 specific CTLs predicting HAM onset」
  • 2021-2022; Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up,PI
    「Comprehensive detection of high affinity TCRs specific for HTLV-1」
Misaki Matsuo
  • 2021-2023;Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists, PI
    「Epigenome dynamics of the host cell in HTLV-1 infection」

Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development【AMED】

  • 2025-2027; Research Program on HIV/AIDS, PI
    「Research on Elucidating HIV Latency Mechanisms and Developing a Viral Reservoir Evaluation System Using Next-Generation Analytical Technologies」
  • 2023-2025 ;Interdisciplinary Cutting-edge Reserch,PI
    「Study of HTLV-1-related pathogenesis via multiple disciplinary approach」
  • 2022-2024; Research Program on HIV/AIDS, PI
    「A development research aiming to elucidate and overcome HIV latency by cutting-edge nucleic acid biotechnology」
  • 2020-2022 ;Interdisciplinary Cutting-edge Reserch,PI
    「Idetification of surrogate markers for the prediction of HTLV-1-related diseases by multiple-layered single cell analysis」
  • 2019-2022;International Collaborative Research Program,PI
    「The human T-cell leukaemia virus HTLV-1: transcriptional heterogeneity at the single-cell level」
  • 2019-2021;Research Program on HIV/AIDS,PI
    「Creation of new druggable targets to overcome HIV-1 latency via collaboration between high-resolution nucleic acid analyses and leading-edge techniques for viral dynamics」
  • 2017-2019; Japanese Initiative for Progress of Research on Infectious Disease for global Epidemic (J-PRIDE),PI
    「Elucidation of key mechanisms of persistent/latent HTLV-1 infection by analyzing single cell data with data mining technique」

Joint Research

Domestic Collaborators

Kagoshima
Kagoshima University Dr. Kenji Ishitsuka
Dr. Shingo Nakahata
Imamura Hospital Dr. Atae Utsunomiya
Dr. Masahito Tokunaga
Saga

Saga University

 Dr. Eizaburo Sueoka
Dr. Hiroo Katsuya
Miyazaki
Miyazaki University Dr. Kunihiko Umekita
Kumamoto
Kumamoto Health Science University Dr. Tatsuya Kawaguchi
Tokai University Dr. Kazuhiko Imakawa
Dr. Toshiaki Inenaga
Fukuoka
Kyushu University Dr. Tomoharu Yoshizumi
Osaka
National Institutes of
Biomedical Innovation, Health and Nutrition		 Dr. Takuya Yamamoto
Kansai Medical University Dr. Jun-ichi Fujisawa
Dr. Takaharu Ueno
Dr. Kazu Okuma
Kyoto
Kyoto University Dr. Yoshio Koyanagi
Dr. Hirofumi Akari
Nagoya
Nagoya Medical Center Dr. Yasumasa Iwatani
Dr. Hirotaka Ode
iBLab
(Graduate School of Sciense Nagoya University)		 Dr. Shingo Iwami
Kanagawa
Medical Science St.Marianna University Dr. Yoshihisa Yamano
Dr. Tomoo Sato
Tokyo
National Center for Global Health and Medicine
(NCGM)		 Dr. Kenji Maeda
Dr. Kiyoto Tsuchiya
Dr. Hiroyuki Gatanaga
Tokyo Medical and dental University Dr. Takeuchi Hiroaki
Insutitute of Medical Science,
the University of Tokyo		 Dr. Hiroshi Yotsuyanagi
Dr. Kei Sato
Dr. Kaoru Uchiyama
Dr. Makoto Yamagishi
Tokyo University of Agriculture Dr.Tomoko Kobayashi
Hokkaido
Hokkaido University Dr. Takasuke Fukuhara

International Collaborators

Switzerland
Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel Dr. Vincent Hahaut
US
The Ohio State University Dr. Patrick Green
Yale School of Medicine Dr. Ya-Chi Ho
Argentina
Dr. Juan P. Garrahan Pediatric Hospital Dr. Andrea Mangano
France
Lyon 1 university Dr. Jocelyn Turpin
UK
Imperial College Dr. Charles RM Bangham
Dr. Masahiro Ono
Dr. Graham Taylor
Dr. Lucy Cook
Dr. Aileen Rowan
Glasgow University Dr. David Robertson