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About

Noriyuki Igarashi is a leading figure in structural biology and synchrotron instrumentation, whose work has revolutionized high-throughput macromolecular crystallography at the Photon Factory. His primary research focuses on developing automated systems that eliminate bottlenecks in protein structure determination, from crystallization through data collection. Igarashi’s most impactful contribution is the PXS (Protein Crystallization System), an automated large-scale platform for protein crystallization and monitoring (66 citations), which dramatically accelerates the preparation of diffraction-quality crystals. He also pioneered the PAM (PF Automated Mounting) sample-exchange robots, enabling rapid, remote cryo-pin exchange at beamlines (34 citations). These innovations, combined with his work on the high-throughput beamline AR-NW12A (25 citations) and remote monitoring/diffraction evaluation systems (13 citations), have collectively increased the throughput and accessibility of synchrotron experiments. Igarashi’s achievements include implementing secure UNIX socket-based control systems for seamless automation and developing reversible cassettes for fully unattended data collection. His integrated robotics and software solutions have transformed the Photon Factory into a world-class facility for high-speed protein crystallography, enabling researchers worldwide to solve structures faster and more efficiently.