A3 grants 2025

A3 grants 2025:  one grants awarded to researchers from the SynCell Asia community

The A3 Foresight Program is a collaborative research initiative jointly established by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), and the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF). It aims to fund joint research projects among scientists from China, Japan, and Korea in selected fields to enhance the global influence. This year, one A3 grant was awarded to three scientists from SynCell Asia community, including Prof. Xiaojun Han (Harbin Institute of Technology), Prof. Kwanwoo Shin (Sogang University), and Prof. Tomoaki Matsuura (Institute of Science Tokyo). They plan to elucidate crucial cell mechanisms by building a self-powered artificial cell capable of multi-cycle reproduction.

Researchers:
·Xiaojun Han
Head of Chemistry Department in Harbin Institute of Technology, China
Expertise: biomolecular assembly, artificial cells. His research interests include complicated metabolism and signal transduction pathway reconstitution in artificial cells, as well as artificial cell growth and division, aiming to understand cell working mechanism.
·Kwanwoo Shin
President of Research and Business Development Foundation in Sogang University, Korea
Expertise: Artificial cells, with particular interest in cell-free expression systems, cytoskeletal organization and sustainable energy generation in protocell models. His group has created artificial organelle mimics that couple light-harvesting proteins and ATP synthase to drive biochemical reactions in synthetic systems.
·Tomoaki Matsuura
Associate Director of Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI), Institute of Science Tokyo, Japan. Affiliated with the Department of Life Science and Technology.
Expertise: Artificial cells, directed evolution, membrane proteins, and membrane biophysics. His interest is to build molecular systems from defined components and understand the fundamental features of living systems.