UTMB

Junji Iwahara, Ph.D.,
Assistant Professor

Faculty

Junji Iwahara, Ph.D.

About the Lab

Macromolecular binding event is not simply a two-state exchange between free and bound states. In fact, previous kinetic investigations have suggested that the process of the specific complex formation goes through intermediate states called as target search or encounter complexes and the presence of such intermediates greatly accelerates the overall process. In terms of structure, how do individual components bind to each other at the intermediates states? How dynamic are they? These are fundamentally important questions for understanding macromolecular recognitions, while structural biology has not given adequate answers yet. It is because the very low population at equilibrium and dynamic nature of such states make the investigations extremely difficult. We have developed a number of powerful NMR methods that permit characterization of the intermediates in macromolecular binding at equilibrium. Applying the new techniques, we investigate structural and dynamic aspects of binding intermediates. Currently, the focus in our research is on the target search process whereby gene-regulatory proteins are able to efficiently and rapidly locate their specific DNA target sequence in a sea of non-specific DNA.

Interview with Dr. Iwahara

– by Aishwarya Ravindran, 3rd Year BSCB Student

A lmost tennysonian in his quest for knowledge, Dr. Iwahara has endlessly widened the horizons of scientific research and has sculpted many glorious moments in his academic record. When I met him for the interview, he came across as an amiable person who readily answered all the questions with remarkable freshness and candor. Of course, one cannot miss his scholarly aureole, for Dr Iwahara is a cornucopia of all qualities that make for an ideal mentor and scientist. Enticed by the BSCB program, the dedicated students of Biophysics, the many good faculty of the department and Galveston itself for its low cost of living, Dr. Iwahara entered UTMB and began his career here. His great liking for the BSCB program is closely linked to the fact that it has students with a strong chemistry background. Dr.Iwahara is an NMR spectroscopist and feels that in order to understand and learn NMR it is essential to have students with a strong background in chemistry and is relatively difficult for a student with just a training in biology to learn NMR.

On being asked about his scientific idol, Dr. Iwahara acknowledged with gratitude the liberal tradition bestowed on him by his previous boss, Marius Clore. Utmost academic freedom that encouraged ‘A Road for Open Creeds’, every new step of advancement, every new turn of thought, eventually led to the establishment of a new research field by both Dr. Iwahara and his boss. A very good NMR spectroscopist and a very good mentor, Marius Clore gave him the freedom to carry out his own project and also encouraged him when he came up with new ideas. This is not common because every supervisor has to manage within the limited research funding available to him/her.

The deep quest of the scientist’s soul to unravel the mysteries of nature, the “eureka” moments that brightens the world with newer glimmers of knowledge motivate him to do research. In his own words: “Delight, joy and excitement when he finds something new. Most of the times research is time consuming and not so much fun. But there are rewards when you discover something new and this motivates me to do research”

With his recent discovery in NMR, he has carved yet another niche for himself. - the use of paramagnetic relaxation enhancement (PRE) as a tool to capture low population intermediates in binding reaction. This idea was totally novel and a major advancement in the field. With a sense of personal satisfaction, he adds that this is the most beautiful scientific observation he has made. But when asked about the most beautiful scientific observation in all of science that won his admiration, Dr. Iwahara chose Newton’s laws. The magical way in which Newton’s equations describe reality using Mathematical terminology has lured his accolades. Another beautiful scientific observation, according to him, is the discovery of the genetic code.

Dr. Iwahara’s lab focuses on protein-DNA interactions, especially the process where the protein searches for a target DNA sequence. Such search process is a dynamic process and hard to investigate and in equilibrium the population of such process is very low. He has developed a new methodology to determine how a protein searches for a target DNA sequence using structure and dynamics. This is just one of the many milestones reached by his research.

'The BSCB program is unique because this program is present in a medical school.'
–Dr. Iwahara.

I continued the interview throwing in the seemingly clichéd question that in reality is often challenging: “Where would like to be (in terms of progress in research) in a few years from now?” His focused answer imbued with passion resonates in my mind – he wished to finish his current project on homeodomain DNA interactions and wanted to move on to complicated systems such as DNA ligases, helicases, polymerases and transcription factors, etc. In a few years he wanted to finish all his current projects and move on to complicated systems, to traverse the expanse of more colorful dreams. Further, laying emphasis on the “thinking process” and the importance of reading papers, he found eternal “thinking” the indelible mark of a research scholar or a good student/scientist. His inviting message to the students of the BSCB program is simple and straight, if they are interested in NMR spectroscopy and protein-DNA interactions, they could join his lab right away. He is also very appreciative of the fact that all students of the BSCB program including the first year students are fully supported financially.

In a short time, Dr. Iwahara demystified the research experience for me; his enlightening words drenched in ardent fervour still linger. As newer vistas of knowledge lie in waiting to be conquered by him and as scientific exploration stretches its arms unceasingly, I can only best conclude my report of the interview with an ellipses . . .