Job Description

The Networked Biophotonics Group at the Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology (RCAST), The University of Tokyo, is inviting motivated and talented candidates from around the world to join us as either graduate students (MS/PhD) or postdoctoral researchers.

• Graduate Students (MS/PhD): Highly motivated individuals with backgrounds in Optics and Applied Physics, Bioengineering, Life Science and Medicine, Microbiology, Information Science, Pharmacology, Chemistry or Applied Chemistry. 
• Postdoctoral Researchers: Candidates holding (or soon completing) a PhD degree with expertise in Microbiology (particularly DNA/RNA sequencing and microbial culturing) or Optics/Engineering (optics, electrical engineering, bioengineering, mechanical engineering).

Required qualifications (All positions):

• Excellent communication skills in English and/or Japanese.
• Strong motivation for interdisciplinary research to unlock the possibilities of invention and innovation.

Research Overview:
Our group integrates optics, fluidics, information science, chemistry/materials, synthetic biology, and medicine to develop advanced technologies for biological measurements. Using our platforms, we aim to discover phenomena and elucidate mechanisms in medical and biophysical sciences and address unmet needs in healthcare by enabling next-generation diagnostics and synthesizing molecular/cellular functions beyond nature.

• Microfluidics-based isolation of unculturable bacteria and multimodal synthetic barcoding for rapid culturomics.
• Developing a system for rapid and large-scale genome analysis (strain identification) and mass spectrometry (metabolite measurement) to obtain a microbial metabolism catalog.
• Advanced microscopy and high-content flow cytometry utilizing AI and multimodal analysis (optical, sequencing, mass-spectrometry). Its application to microbiota and phenotypic studies, stem cell studies, and pharmacology.
• Biomedical and pharmaceutical applications including hematology, oncology, immunology, infection, stem cell research, reproductive medicine, microbiology, and extracellular vesicles.

Policy and Environment:

• Our interdisciplinary environment emphasizes collaboration and innovation. We are an interdisciplinary team consisting of experts in optics, bioengineering, microfluidics, physics, and biology, pharmacology, informatics, and chemistry.
• International collaborations with leading institutions in North America (MIT, UBC, University of Washington, University of Chicago), the UK, Japan, and industry.
• Training opportunities through collaborations and exchange programs with top UK universities through Japan-UK ASPIRE program, covering synthetic biology, machine learning, and quantum computing, will be available.
• We promote equal opportunities, diversity, and inclusion.

Scholarships and Financial Support:

• Financial support available for graduate students through various University of Tokyo scholarships and lab-aided financial assistance. Early applications are encouraged to secure funding options (MEXT, WINGS, etc.)
• In general, students in the lab are financially supported.

Admission Period:

• for Graduate student position
  • April to early June (MS/PhD programs)
  • November 29 to December 5, 2025 (PhD program)
  • Comply with UTokyo-Graduate schools eligibility criteria (for eg; TOEFL Test, Application process etc)
• for Postdoc position
  • ASAP. Request contact us by June.

How to Apply:
Please contact us directly via email ( sadaota@solab.rcast.u-tokyo.ac.jp ) with your interests and background, including:

1. A cover letter including previous major fields and future research plans
2. Updated CV and contact information (email, address, telephone number)
3. Names and contact information of two references for the graduate student application and three for the postdoc position..

Relevant Links:

Inquiry
Emails: sadaota at solab.rcast.u-tokyo.ac.jp

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