About FIBER

Director’s Introduction

The Frontier Institute for Biomolecular Engineering Research (FIBER) was established in November 2003 as an institute for the innovative research and education with the highest global standards in the field of biomolecular engineering. In 2004, our research project “Tailor-made biochemistry for the purpose of useful artificial biomolecule production” was adopted by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) for their Academic Frontiers Promotion Project. We achieved brilliant and successful results through this program. At the same time, we have been establishing social action programs through strengthening connections with industrial, governmental, and academic institutions. In April 2009, FIBER was renewed and moved to the Port Island campus of Konan University to further accomplish the Core Research Innovation in biomolecular science and technology in collaboration with the Faculty of Frontiers of Innovative Research in Science and Technology (FIRST), which had just been established at the same campus based on success of the project. The Port Island campus belongs to the Medical Industry Development Project in Kobe, which is part of the Hyogo Research HUB program. This move was advantageous for us to promote collaborations with industrial, governmental, and academic institutes.

From 2009 to 2013, we carried out the research project “Design of functional molecules under molecular crowding conditions applicable to a gene expression system”, which was adopted as a MEXT-Supported Program for the Strategic Research Foundation at Private Universities. In the project, we quantitatively analyzed the physicochemical properties of biomolecules and the effects of changes in the cellular environment on biomolecules. The results showed that among the various types of biomolecules, the structures and stabilities of nucleic acids are particularly sensitive to the surrounding chemical environment. The accomplished results of each basic science project and the molecular design for biotechnological application were published in international scientific journals. Furthermore, in 2014, the current research project “Establishment of a chemical technique to regulate cell responses by targeting the non-canonical structures of nucleic acids and development of a technology for pre-emptive therapeutics and engineering based on nucleic acids” was adopted as a MEXT-Supported Program for the Strategic Research Foundation at Private Universities. In this project, the cellular response against intracellular chemical environments and extracellular chemical stimulations are quantitatively analyzed at the molecular level, focusing on the functions of non-canonical nucleic acid structures. Based on the basic knowledge of the molecular mechanisms, we aim to pioneer a novel research field of medical-engineering, whose concept is the regulation of the non-canonical structures of nucleic acids associated with diseases at a pre-critical stage. Please expect new activity of FIBER related to this new field.

We are now ready to evaluate the biomolecular properties and intracellular conditions using various chemical and physical measurements. These characteristics can reflect the meaning of our institute’s name (FIBER). FIBER is an abbreviation of the English name of our institute (Frontier Institute for Biomolecular Engineering Research), but the acronym also clearly brings to mind thin, long fibers. In other words, if you spin thin fibers (representing an elemental technology) together, they will become a stronger bundle that can give birth to “big science”, and this concept has been interwoven into our name. Furthermore, bundled fibers should be well-connected, which also generates big waves in science. The founder of Konan University, Hachisaburo Hirao, said “People must be either interesting or beneficial. In FIBER, we want to make both 'interesting science' and 'beneficial engineering' an inseparable part of our research activities."

In the near future, we would like to take the opportunity to here report on the depth and breadth of our activities. We look forward to the kind support and cooperation of everyone involved.

March 2016
Naoki Sugimoto
Director of Frontier Institute for Biomolecular Engineering Research ( FIBER)