Ejima Research Group

Bioinspired Polymeric Materials Lab.

Our research focuses on the design, synthesis, and engineering of polymeric materials, learning from how nature makes functional materials evolved over millions of years. Our long-term research goal is to "create our own materials" by converting the molecular design principles developed by nature to synthetic systems and contributing to the advancement of science and technology. In the short-term, we are conducting research projects on bioinspired materials such as, (i) Seawater-assisted self-healing materials, (ii) Polyphenol-inspired antioxidant polymers, (iii) Tunicate-inspired bioadhesives, (iv) Cells and extracellular vesicles engineering by the MPN coatings.

Research Opportunities

We are welcoming prospective students and researchers from around the globe who wish to join us. Please check the following websites.

Graduate Study : The IME Graduate Program at the University of Tokyo
Summer Internship : Engineering Summer Education Program
Postdoctoral Research : JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship for Research in Japan

For more information on studying, researching, and visitng short-term, feel free to contact A/Prof. Ejima directly via email (ejima@g.ecc.u-tokyo.ac.jp).

Group News

2024/10/08: The research on the synergistic disassembly of MPNs using H₂O₂ has been
: featured on the supplementary cover of Chem. Mater. [Link]
2024/10/07: A lecture by Prof. Joseph J. Richardson (RMIT). [Link]
2024/09/11: Our research on the synergistic disassembly of MPNs using H₂O₂ has been
: published in Chem. Mater. [Link]
2024/06/12: Our collaborative research showing the conditional knockout of Shank3 in the ventral CA1 causes impairment of social memory in mice has been published in
: Nature Commun. [Link]
2024/05/19: Our bio-inspired underwater adhesive has been featured on Japanese TV program. [Link]
2024/04/26: Our collaborative research on the MPN preparation using caffeic acid and lignosulfonate as ligands has been published in ACS Omega. [Link]
2024/04/22: A lecture by Prof. Christof Brändli (ZHAW). [Link]
2024/02/20: Our collaborative research on the induction of apoptosis and paraptosis by dual-ions-trapping MPNs has been published in ACS Nano. [Link]
2024/02/04: Our bio-inspired underwater adhesive has been featured on Japanese TV program. [Link]
2024/01/12: Our collaborative research on the MD simulation of paint materials has been published in ACS Omega. [Link]
2023/12/14: Our collaborative research on the stealth property of poly(2-methoxyethyl vinyl ether) (PMOVE) has been published in J. Appl. Polym. Sci. [Link]
2023/11/30: Yurie has received the poster award at the 13th CSJ Chemistry Festa. [Link]
2023/11/15: A sminar by Prof. Myungeun Seo (KAIST). [Link]
2023/10/18: Our research on the size and morphology control of CaCO₃ particles using
: phenolic polymers has been published in RSC Adv. [Link]
2023/10/06: You can watch Eriko's videos about the lotus effect on Instagram of Metaverse School of Engineering. [Link]
2023/08/27: Our bio-inspired underwater adhesive has been featured on Japanese TV program. [Link]
2023/08/23: A/Prof. Ejima received the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development President Award, the Japan Medical Research and Development Grand Prize at
: the Prime Minister's Office of Japan. [Link]
2023/07/25: A seminar by Prof. Shuying Wu (Macquarie University). [Link]
2023/07/07: A seminar by Prof. Havazelet Bianco-Peled (Technion - Israel Institute of Technology). [Link]
2023/06/22: A/Prof. Ejima received the Science Award of the Adhesion Society of Japan. [Link]
2023/06/19–21: A Lecture by Prof. In-Suk Choi (Seoul National University). [Link]
2023/06/05: A Lecture by Prof. Lingyun Zhao (Tsinghua University).
2023/05/18: Professors and students from the University of Toronto visited us for discussing research collaboration.
2023/04/26: A seminar by Prof. Anton Friedl (TU Wien). [Link]
2023/04/07: A/Prof. Ejima receives the Young Scientists’ Award of the Commendation for Science and Technology by MEXT.
2022/10/03: Our research on the bio-inspired underwater adhesive has been featured on YouTube channel of School of Engineering, the University of Tokyo. [Link]

2022/09/29: A seminar by Prof. Benjamin D. Hatton (University of Toronto). [Link]
2022/09/23: Our research on the synthesis of tannic acid-inspired star polymers and the assembly of MPNs has been published in Nanoscale. [Link]
2022/09/04: Our research on the bio-inspired underwater adhesive has been featured on Japanese TV program. [Link]
2022/06/29: Our collaborative research on the fabrication of 2D heterostructures through the pick-and-flip assembly using the polymers with different T_gs has been published
: in Sci. Rep. [Link]
2022/06/13: A Lecture by Prof. Lingyun Zhao (Tsinghua University).
2022/05/27: Jincai has received the poster award at the 71st annual meeting of the society of polymer science, Japan. [Link]
2022/05/06: Our research on the synthesis of poly(4-thiostyrene) has been published in Macromol. Chem. Phys. [Link]
2022/04/13: Our research on the bio-inspired underwater adhesive has been published in Nature Commun. [Link]
2022/03/19: Our collaborative research on the MPN alloy for synergistic wound disinfection and revascularization has been published in Bioactive Mater. [Link]
2022/02/16: The research on the dithiocatechol-pendant polymers has been featured on the supplementary cover of J. Am. Chem. Soc. [Link]
2022/02/08: Our collaborative research on the antimicrobial property of MPN has been published in Sci. Rep. [Link]
: This research is highlighted in EurekAlert!, TechExplorist, SciTechDaily,
: MailOnline, OrbitInside, MyDroll, ScienceDaily, The Times of Truth, etc.
2022/01/07: Our research on the synthesis of dithiocatechol-pendant polymers has been published in J. Am. Chem. Soc. [Link]
2021/11/19: Taku has received the poster award at the Autumn Meeting of the Society of Fiber Science and Technology, Japan.
2021/11/18: Our collaborative research on the MPN coating of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii has been published in Algal Research. [Link]
2021/09/19: Eriko's video on the demonstration of "Tatara Iron Making" at the annual school festival has been streamed on the YouTube channel of Department of Materials
: Engineering, the University of Tokyo. [Link]

2021/06/12: JJ (JSPS Fellow) gave a lecture at Tokyo Metropolitan High School of Science and Technology as part of the JSPS Science Dialogue. [Link]
2021/05/22: The research on the polydopamine coating of exosomes has been featured on the cover picture of ChemNanoMat. [Link]
2021/03/04: Our research on the polydopamine-mediated exosome surface engineering has been published in ChemNanoMat. [Link]
2021/02/27: Toma has received the student presentation award at the meeting of Tokyo young polymer scientists.
2021/01/27–29: A Lecture by Prof. In-Suk Choi (Seoul National University). [Link]
2020/12/21: A Lecture by Prof. Chunlei Wan (Tsinghua University).
2020/08/21: Our collaborative research on the self-assembly of lignin particles and their anisotropic adhesion has been published in Colloid Interface Sci. Commun. [Link]
2020/07/01: Our research on the tissue bonding using the gallol-functionalized chitosan has been published in J. Photopolym. Sci. Technol. [Link]
2020/04/09: The collaborative research on the cellulose nanocrystal glue has been featured on the cover picture of Adv. Mater. [Link]
2020/04/08: Our research on the gallol-based underwater adhesives has been published in J. Mater. Chem. B. [Link]
: This article is part of the themed issue of Journal of Materials Chemistry B
: Emerging Investigators. [Link]
2020/02/16: Our collaborative research on the self-assembly of cellulose nanocrystals and their anisotropic adhesion has been published in Adv. Mater. [Link]
: This research is highlighted in Advanced Science News, Nanowerk, Phys.Org,
: Science Daily, SciTechDaily, Technology Networks, TechTimes, ZME Science, etc.
2019/10/24: We had visitors from TU Wien and discussed about our future collaboration.
2019/10/21–25: Professors and students from the University of Toronto visited us for research collaboration.
2019/10/21: A lecture by Prof. Anton Friedl (TU Wien).
2019/07/09: Our research on the immobilization of MPC polymers through gallol tethering groups has been published in Polym. Chem. [Link]
: This article is part of the Emerging Investigators 2020 collection. [Link]
2019/06/16–19: Bohan presented at the 4th International Conference on Bioinspired and Zwitterionic Materials (ICBZM2019) @ Netherlands. [Link]
2019/04/30: Our review on the biomaterials assembled from polyphenol building blocks has been published in ACS Biomater. Sci. Eng. [Link]
: This article is part of the Biomaterials Science and Engineering in Japan special
: issue. [Link]
2019/03/11: Our perspective on the surface modification of exosomes has been published in Chem. Mater. [Link]
: This article is part of the "Up & Coming" series of perspectives. [Link]
2019/02/22: Our collaborative research on the surface modification of MPN has been published in Biomacromolecules. [Link]
2019/02/18: Our collaborative research on the Cellulose/MOF composite materials has been published in ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng. [Link]
2019/01/18: A seminar by Prof. Phillip Messersmith (UC Berkeley). [Link]
2019/01/15: Our collaborative research on the targeted therapy against metastatic melanoma based on MPN nanoparticles has been published in Adv. Science. [Link]
2018/12/10: We won the autumn tournament of softball game, Dept. of Mater. Eng. Cup.
2018/12/03: A Lecture by Prof. Sandra Kentish (The University of Melbourne).
2018/07/12: We won the summer tournament of softball game, Dept. of Mater. Eng. Cup.
2018/05/18–20: Research exhibition at the University of Tokyo 91st May Festival.
2017/10/19: A Lecture by Prof. Zhengcao Li (Tsinghua University).
2017/10/16: A Lecture by Prof. Jeong-Yun Sun (Seoul National University).