Have you ever encountered a jellyfish while walking along the beach, been captivated by their translucent beauty at an aquarium or maybe felt the stinging sensation of their venom while swimming or snorkeling in the sea?
I was fascinated by jellyfish during my first visit to Monterey Bay Aquarium (California USA), which has led to a life-long pursuit of studying these amazingly diverse and complex aquatic organisms. My travels have taken me around the globe, introduced me to the world’s leading researchers and further developed my passion for jellyfish research. Now as a Professor of Applied Marine Biology at Tohoku University (Sendai, Japan), I have the privilege of training the next generation of leaders who will carry this scientific field into new frontiers.
For those of you interested in learning more about jellyfish and my research collaborations, I hope you will find the information here both interesting and useful. If you are a student please consider studying Applied Marine Biology in my International Marine Sciences Laboratory at Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan. The ocean awaits, Meet the Lab!
Check out the latest lab updates.
- From the beginning of February to the end of April, the IMS Lab has the pleasure of being joined by Mr. Nicolo Ferraris from Wageningen University. During his 3-month exchange program, Nicolo will be assisting on the HABs research project.
Statement from Nicolo: Hi! I’m Nicolo, an Italian MSc Biology student from Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands, where I specialized in Molecular Ecology. I just finished my thesis on investigating sex determination in invasive lionfish (Pterois miles), which got me hooked on combining lab work with bioinformatics. I’ve always been really interested in applied molecular biology, especially next-generation sequencing technologies like Nanopore for biodiversity monitoring. I arrived in Sendai on February 1st and have been loving the experience so far. The people in the lab are great and made me feel right at home since day one. I’ve … - New Research: A comparative molecular study of rhizostome jellyfishes from Japan reveals variability in Symbiodiniaceae taxon associations and cassiosome production.
Led by Kei Chloe Tan , this study dives deep into the complex world of Rhizostomeae that play massive roles in Asian ecology and industry. What makes these jellies unique? Rhizostome jellyfishes are unlike your average medusa. They don’t have long, trailing tentacles neither other structures at the eadg of theyr bell; they have eight highly branched oral arms, along which there are suctorial minimouth orifices. Our study focused on three main goals: Key Discoveries “This research provides a baseline for understanding how jellyfish and algae co-evolve, helping us manage coastal ecosystems and the jellyfish fisheries that are so vital … - カツオノエボシは1種ではなかった：5種への再分類と新種「ミカヅキノエボシ」の命名 執筆：彩恵 りり
サイエンスライターの彩恵りり氏が、カツオノエボシ属（Physalia属）が5種に再分類された最新の研究について詳しく解説してくださいました。これら新種のうち1種の発見に当研究室が貢献したことを、大変光栄に思います。 [彩恵りり氏による解説記事はこちら] [当研究室のオリジナル論文はこちら] - Mikazuki no Eboshi as one of the 14 New and Unusual Species of 2025 by Discover
Alongside 13 other new species is our lab’s discovery, the Mikazuki no Eboshi (Physalia mikazuki). These other new species are also incredibly interesting discoveries, spanning a wide range of habitats and phyla. Each has truly unique characteristics and is well worth a look. - Nikkei reported on Mikazuki no Eboshi: 宮城県で新種のクラゲ、伊達政宗にちなんで命名 東北大学
Our lab’s discovery was featured in a Nikkei article. The piece focused on the computer simulation used to estimate the period and travel path of the specimen, as it originated from a different region than the discovery site: コンピューターを使ったシミュレーション（模擬実験）の結果、神奈川県沖の相模湾などから海流に乗って運ばれた可能性があると分かった。研究成果をまとめた論文は学術誌「フロンティアズ・オブ・マリン・サイエンス」に掲載された。