News in 2021

12. 19. 2021

Presented at Pacifichem2021.

The 2021 International Chemical Congress of Pacific Basin Soieties (Pacifichem2021), which was scheduled to be held in Honolulu, USA, was held online. Dr. Matsushima gave an oral presentation on “Development of a new clipping method for ab initio calculation to evaluate halogen bonds in ligand/receptor protein crystal structures”. She said it was very difficult to listen to the presentation which was held from 3:00 a.m. Japan time, but it was very nice to be able to listen to the international conference online.

12. 1. 2021

We received year-end gifts.

We received year-end gifts from our graduating seniors. We were all very excited to receive stylish baked goods, beautiful New Year’s sweets, and a very tasty ham. We enjoyed the delicious food after cleaning up. As last year, coronavirus infections continued to occur this year, and we were all able to celebrate the end of the year together, despite the fact that we are increasingly coming online. In our laboratory, our motto is to challenge ourselves without preconceived ideas. We will continue to live each day with the spirit of “anything goes” in our daily lives. Thank you all for your support this year.

11. 3. 2021

Presented at the 94th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Biochemical Society.

The 94th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Biochemical Society, which was scheduled to be held in Yokohama, was also held online. Chika Ishibashi, a first-year master’s student, and Dr. Ayami Matsushima gave poster presentations at the meeting. Ishibashi presented “A novel repetitive sequence on the genome that functions as an estrogen response sequence” and Dr. Matsushima presented “New generation bisphenols act as coactivator binding inhibitors of ERβ”. Although it was disappointing not to be able to listen to them face to face, they learned a lot from the many symposiums that were held.

10. 20. 2021

Presented at The 58th Japanese Peptide Symposium.

Mari Hosose, a first-year master’s student, presented “Peptide Expression in Brain of Mice Exposed to Endocrine Disrupting Substances” at The 58th Japanese Peptide Symposium, which was held online. She was very happy to receive advice directly from many professors online. Next year, she will do my best to win the poster award!

10. 6. 2021

Publications and Press Release

A paper has been accepted for publication on a new mechanism of disturbing action exhibited by the toxic environmental chemical bisphenols on estrogen receptors. This is the first report in the world showing that so-called environmental hormones act as coactivator inhibitors of estrogen receptor type beta. Please see the press release.

9. 24. 2021

Presented at the 20th Izumiya Colloquium.

At the 20th Izumiya Colloquium, which was held online, fourth-year student Kotone Ito gave her first oral presentation entitled “Development of Indicators for Halogen Binding in Vivo Using Protein Crystal Structures”. She was a little nervous for her first participation in an academic conference, but her presentation was very calm. Ito received the sponsor’s special award for this presentation. It was a memorable conference for her, as it was the first time for her to participate and the first time for her to receive an award.

8. 28, 9. 12. 2021

Participated in The 34th Annual Meeting of the Society for DV-Xα and The 23th Japan Society of Endocrine Disruptors Research Annual Meeting

Dr. Matsushima presented “Development of Indicators of Halogen Binding in Vivo Using Protein Crystal Structures” at the DVXα meeting on August 28, 2021, and “New Generation Bisphenols Act as Coactivator Binding Inhibitors of ERβ” on September 12, 2021. Both were online conferences. The presentations were well received.

7. 30. 2021

We received mid-year gifts.

We received mid-year gifts from graduating seniors. In anticipation of the fourth-year students studying hard for their graduate exams, the young people took turns choosing their favorite snacks to eat. We were impressed by the fashionable Pione grape sweets and four kinds of citrus jelly assortment. Then, one of the seniors who had been employed by Nippon Ham sent us some high quality hams! We enjoyed all of them very much. We will continue to work hard together to cherish the various milestones while responding to the spread of coronavirus infection as flexibly as a young bamboo. We would be very happy to receive your continued support. Thank you very much for your continued support.

7. 3. 2021

Presented at The 58th Joint Conference of Chemistry-Related Branches in Kyushu.

This year’s Joint Conference of Chemistry-Related Branches in Kyushu was held online. Chika Ishibashi, a first-year master’s student, gave a presentation entitled “Repeat sequences and transcriptional activity of estrogen receptor and estrogen-related receptor binding” and Mari Hosose gave a presentation entitled “Gene expression changes in mouse brain due to exposure to bisphenol during fetal life”. It was their first conference presentation and they were very nervous. Next time, they would like to talk with many professors at the venue. They will do their best to make a new presentation at the next conference.

6. 12. 2021

Presented at the regular meeting of the Japanese Biochemical Society, Kyushu Branch.

This year’s regular meeting of the Kyushu Branch of the Japanese Biochemical Society was held online. Dr. Matsushima gave a presentation entitled “Novel Estrogen Receptor Inhibitors Based on the Structure of Bisphenol C, a Toxic Environmental Chemical”. The presentation of an estrogen receptor inhibitor that may be a potential therapeutic agent for breast cancer was well received. It looks like there will be many online conferences for a while due to the spread of coronavirus infection.

2021. 4. 5.

It is a new school year.

It’s a new school year. We all set goals for the first semester! We will all work hard this year to present research results from our small laboratory that will shine brightly from afar. Thank you very much for your cooperation.