Ken Hirotsu

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About

Ken Hirotsu is a prominent structural biologist whose work has significantly advanced the field of structural genomics, with a particular focus on the thermophilic bacterium *Thermus thermophilus* HB8. His key research areas encompass protein crystallography, high-throughput crystallization screening, and the development of automated robotic systems for structural biology. Hirotsu’s major contribution lies in pioneering efficient crystallization methodologies that enabled the large-scale structural determination of proteins from *T. thermophilus* HB8, a model organism for understanding thermostability and protein function. His most-cited paper (29 citations) details the critical crystallization screening test for the whole-cell project, where he successfully integrated three conventional robots—the HTS-80 (sitting-drop), Crystal Finder (hanging-drop), and TERA (modified microbatch)—to streamline the crystallization process. This work was instrumental in overcoming a major bottleneck in structural genomics, allowing for the rapid and reliable production of protein crystals. By facilitating the structural characterization of numerous thermophilic proteins, Hirotsu’s achievements have provided invaluable insights into protein evolution and stability, making him a key figure in the development of high-throughput structural biology pipelines.