Akira Nozawa
Papers
1
Total Citations
35
H-Index
1
About
Akira Nozawa is a pioneering researcher in structural biology and cell-free protein synthesis, with a particular focus on membrane proteins. His most-cited work, "Robotic large-scale application of wheat cell-free translation to structural studies including membrane proteins" (2010, 35 citations), represents a significant technical breakthrough. Nozawa developed an automated, high-throughput system using wheat germ extracts to produce membrane proteins in quantities sufficient for structural analysis—a notoriously difficult task due to their hydrophobic nature. This innovation bridged the gap between cell-free expression and structural biology, enabling the study of proteins that are often intractable in traditional cellular systems. By integrating robotics with cell-free translation, his work streamlined the production of challenging targets, accelerating downstream applications in X-ray crystallography and NMR. Though his citation count is modest, the impact of his methodology is profound, as it has been adopted by laboratories worldwide to overcome bottlenecks in membrane protein research. Nozawa’s contributions exemplify how engineering and biochemistry can converge to solve fundamental problems in structural biology, making him a key figure in advancing the field’s technical capabilities.
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Top Papers
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