OIST Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology

21/08/2026

The OIST Tunnel Gallery exhibition has been renewed! Discover OIST research through refreshed displays featuring scientific imagery and glimpses into our labs.

OISTトンネルギャラリーの展示がリニューアル！科学の世界を映し出すビジュアルや研究現場の様子を紹介する新しい展示を通して、OISTの研究にふれてみませんか。

19/08/2026

“From decades of research into opioid receptor pathways, we are excited to launch Surzen Biotherapeutics. We hope to provide acute and chronic pain sufferers with safer, more effective treatments,” says Dr. Peng Zhou, CTO and co-founder of Surzen Biotherapeutics.

Peng and his colleagues have just launched Surzen Biotherapeutics, bringing an innovative new approach to pain management, based off of scientific discoveries made during Peng’s time as a post-doctoral researcher and Technology Pioneer Fellow at OIST.

Learn more about the company, its science and Peng’s journey in our press release: https://www.oist.jp/news-center/news/2026/8/19/new-startup-surzen-biotherapeutics-aims-innovate-pain-management

17/08/2026

As a child, Yu-Ju Lin loved watching nature documentaries. At OIST, her research has tried to understand animals on a deeper level.

“I was drawn to behavioral studies because I could see for myself how animals change how they act. I wanted to study and understand this further,” she says.

Lin is co-first author on a new Science paper about memory and artificial hibernation. Her team explores the structural basis of memory formation, showing the importance of certain clusters of synapses to long-term memory.

As of September 2026, Lin will take up a new post-doctoral position at NYU, where she’s expanding her experience in molecular neuroscience. “I think it’s important to have well-rounded skillsets as a scientist, so I’m looking forward to learning advanced molecular techniques that will complement my behavioral research background.”

14/08/2026

One week to go until OIST Net Café (Japanese Session)!
Interested in learning more about the OIST PhD Program and Research Internship Program?
Join us to hear directly from current OIST students about their research and student life, and learn more about admissions and application processes.

🗓️ August 21, 2026 🕙 10:00-11:30 JST 💻 Online | Japanese session
Register here: https://graduateschool.oist.jp/register/?id=a19c73f4-9d35-4713-bf33-30885d4f23b2

Prefer to learn about our programs in person?
We will be hosting OIST Café in Okinawa (August 29, in Yomitan), Kyoto (Sep 12) and Osaka (Sep 13).
More information here: https://www.oist.jp/admissions/events/oist-cafe

14/08/2026

What can artificial hibernation reveal about long-term memory? Published in Science, OIST and collaborators reveal the clustered synaptic structures that may be key to memory retention.

“Previously, synaptic strengthening was thought to be key to memory recall, and that stronger synapses with larger dendritic spines were fundamental to long-term memory retention,” says Prof. Kaz Tanaka. “Here, we show that not every synapse matters, and demonstrate instead the vital importance of engram (memory trace) architecture.”

For a full summary of the study, read our press release: https://www.oist.jp/news-center/news/2026/8/13/artificial-hibernation-reveals-secrets-long-term-memory

12/08/2026

Movement is a central aspect of just about every animal’s survival, whether it relates to local exploration or global migration. Even more sophisticated behaviors, such as the collective interactions for which many types of ants are famous, are built upon the motion of the individual. As such, understanding this individual behavior is integral to piecing together the life and ecology of an animal.

By recording how individual ants explore a laboratory environment, researchers have come up with a physics-based model for how these ants navigate. This model allows researchers to explore how these ants might behave in new environments, and highlights how physics-based tools and models can be used to quantify and understand living systems.

NIB National Institute of Biology, Slovenia

Researchers develop a model that reproduces and predicts individual ant movement, opening new avenues for understanding ant behavior in urban environments.

10/08/2026

“It’s surprising to see just how responsive development can be to the immediate environment, not just on evolutionary timescales but within an individual’s lifetime,” says Dr. Marcela Herrera, first author on new Science Advances study.

The team looked at how habitats influenced the development of reef fish undergoing a dramatic metamorphosis, revealing the role of thyroid hormones in supporting communication between genes and the environment.

Learn more: https://www.oist.jp/news-center/news/2026/8/8/hidden-hormone-habitat-relationship-revealed-reef-fish

06/08/2026

Due to the approach of typhoon #13 (Dolphin), the OIST campus will be closed from Friday August 7 through Sunday August 9.

Please take care and stay safe.

04/08/2026

2 months left to apply!

Faculty Positions Open!

The Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology is an international, interdisciplinary graduate university in Japan, operating entirely in English and committed to empowering world-class researchers with the freedom, resources, and support they need to drive transformational discoveries.

We are inviting applications for tenure-track assistant professor positions in two broad areas:

- Chemistry & Materials Science: broadly defined as including the physical sciences
- Life Sciences & Neuroscience: including theoretical and AI approaches

Learn more and apply by October 1st: https://www.oist.jp/careers/faculty-positions

31/07/2026

Join us for our casual online information session, the OIST Net Cafe!
In this session, our current PhD students will introduce their research projects, and staff from the Graduate School will answer all your questions regarding the application and admissions process for our research internship and PhD program at OIST.

Date: Friday, August 17, 2026
Time: 10:00 - 11:30 (JST UTC+9)
Speakers:
Sharon Babar (PhD student at the Synapse Biology Unit)
Tuan Duc Hoang (PhD student at the Quantum Systems Unit)
Language: English

Register here: https://graduateschool.oist.jp/register/?id=3846fd76-46d9-4198-a941-dcb5afe64ca8

In case of campus closure due to a typhoon approaching Okinawa, the event may be postponed.