Legal Medicine and Bioethics
KEYWORDS
- Forensic Toxicology
- Mass spectrometry
- Drug addiction
- Metabolomics
- Transcriptomics
- Proteomics
HEAD
LAB MEMBER
| Faculty | Position | Researchers |
|---|---|---|
| NATORI Yujin | Assistant Professor | Researchers |
CONTACT
| iga-ryu◎t.mail.nagoya-u.ac.jp (Please send a message after replacing "◎" mark with "@" mark. ) |
OUTLINE
Forensic medicine is a field of medicine related to the law, covering an extremely wide range of topics.
In our laboratory, we provide expert testimonies in actual caseworks, and further address research challenges that emerge through such practical cases.
In addition to forensic pathology and medical ethics, our laboratory is currently focusing on two research areas:
- Forensic toxicological studies using various mass spectrometers
- Analyses of toxicity mechanisms through metabolomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics.
RESEARCH PROJECTS
- Forensic toxicological studies using various mass spectrometers
We are working on high-sensitivity analysis of drugs and poisons in biological specimens using front-line mass spectrometers in our laboratory, such as gas chromatograph-tandem mass spectrometer (GC-MS/MS, Photo), and liquid chromatograph-tandem mass spectrometer (LC-MS/MS).
We developed methods for various toxic compounds including illegal drugs (i.e. amphetamines or methamphetamines), controlled substances such as synthetic cannabinoids, benzodiazepines, and natural toxins (plant poisons like aconitines and marine poisons like tetrodotoxin).
Current research projects include the development of mass spectral database of natural toxins and the development of isomeric differentiation method of designated substances (i.e. synthetic cannabinoids) using accurate mass analysis, as well as the analysis of first phase metabolic pathway of illegal drugs. In addition, we have developed methods for identifying drugs in alternative specimens including putrefied tissues. - Metabolomics is a systematic study for endogenous metabolites such as amino acids, fatty acids, sugars, and nucleic acids, and is an area of research that has been attracting much attention in recent years. Having already built a metabolomics platform technology using mass spectrometry, by combining animal (rats and mice) experiments and experiments using culture cells, and metabolomics, we aim to unravel the expression mechanisms of acute poisoning deaths due to drugs and poisons or dependence of drugs-of-abuse.
Recently, we conduct transcriptomic and proteomic studies to elucidate the mechanisms of drug addiction and adverse effects using animal and culture cell models.
Students will learn basic animal experiment procedures, basic knowledge of mass spectrometry and metabolomics, operation of mass spectrometers used in metabolomics, sample pretreatment techniques used in metabolomics, as well as data analysis and multivariate statistical analysis methods of the metabolome data.
MESSAGE
We are seeking graduate students and research students!?
We are currently seeking Masters and Doctoral students who are interested in forensic toxicology as well as in DNA examination!
Our goal is to train students into researchers with a broad perspective who possesses both a research mind as well as the ability to work with forensic cases. Our door is open not only to medical students but also to graduate students of other departments who are interested in forensic practice and research. If you are interested, please visit our laboratory.
