Hiroaki Tanabe

Papers

Total Citations

H-Index

About

Hiroaki Tanabe is a specialist in structural biology and biophysics, with a focused expertise in the development of tools for membrane protein crystallography. His most cited work, "A new manual dispensing system for in meso membrane protein crystallization with using a stepping motor-based dispenser" (2014, 7 citations), addresses a critical bottleneck in the field: the precise handling of highly viscous lipidic mesophases. Tanabe’s major contribution is the engineering of a reliable, stepping motor-based microsyringe dispenser that enables researchers to deliver exact, reproducible volumes of viscous lipid—a task notoriously difficult with standard pipettes. This innovation significantly lowers the technical barrier for in meso crystallization, making it more accessible to labs without expensive robotic setups. While his citation count reflects a niche but essential contribution, the impact of his work lies in its practical utility, directly enabling more efficient structure determination of challenging membrane proteins. Tanabe’s achievement underscores his role as a tool-builder in structural biology, where precision engineering meets the demands of molecular discovery.