Prof. Iwata was awarded a Ph.D. at University of Tokyo in 1991. After postdoctoral research experience at Photon Factory, Japan (1991-2) and at the Max-Planck-Institute for Biophysics, Germany (1992-6), he became a lecturer at Uppsala University, Sweden in 1996. He joined Imperial College London in 2000 as the Chair of Membrane Protein Crystallography and became Director of Centre for Structural Biology in January 2005.  He also holds positions as a Diamond Fellow at Diamond Light Source and the Research Director of ERATO IWATA Human Receptor Crystallography project.  In December 2005, he was given the title of David Blow Chair of Biophysics. He has solved various membrane protein structures, which are essential for the cell functions, including cytochrome c oxidase, lactose permease and photosystem II. His current main interest is to establish the structural determination method of human membrane proteins including G-protein coupled receptors, which are major drug targets.

List of Degrees and Theses Titles:

B.Sc. (March, 1986):

Undergraduate at the University of Tokyo

M.Sc. (March, 1988):

University of Tokyo

Thesis: "Characterisation and Allosteric Properties of L-Lactate Dehydrogenase from Biffidobacterium longum (BLLDH)"

Supervisor: Prof. T. Ohta

Ph.D. (March, 1991):

University of Tokyo

Thesis: "The Crystal Structure of L-Lactate Dehydrogenase from Biffidobacterium longum : Structural Changes during Allosteric Transitions"

Supervisors: Prof. T. Ohta (Department of Agricultural Chemistry,University of Tokyo) and Prof. N. Sakabe (Photon Factory, National Laboratory for High Energy Physics, Tsukuba, Japan.)

Membrane Protein Crystallography Research Group