Satoshi Tsuneda

Satoshi Tsuneda is a Professor at Waseda University’s School of Advanced Science and Engineering, attached to the Department of Life and Medical Sciences and jointly stationed at the Center for Advanced Biomedical Sciences (TWIns). Since earning his Ph.D. in Engineering from the University of Tokyo (1994) he has built a highly cited research program (> 15 800 citations, h-index 70) spanning environmental biotechnology and medical microbiology.

Education:

• Doctor of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 1994
• Master of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 1991
• Bachelor of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 1989

Research Interests:

Tsuneda’s group integrates molecular microbiology with engineering to address global health and environmental challenges. They elucidate nitrification and anammox processes, design phage-based antimicrobials, decode bacterial persistence mechanisms, and develop microfluidic cultivation platforms. Their work links fundamental insights in bacteriophage biology, toxin-antitoxin systems, and nitrifying bacteria to practical applications in wastewater treatment, aquaculture, and alternative antimicrobials.

Publication Trends:

Recent articles (2022-2025) reveal two dominant directions: (i) phage engineering and phage cocktail design to combat multidrug-resistant E. coli and other pathogens, and (ii) ecophysiology of nitrifying bacteria (Nitrosomonas, Nitrotoga, anammox) aimed at optimizing nitrogen removal in engineered and natural systems. Additional themes include bacterial persistence, RNA toxin specificity, and micro-droplet technologies for high-throughput microbe isolation.

Scientific Awards:

• Ministry of the Environment Director-General's Award for Environmental Regeneration and Resource Recycling (2022)
• Japan Society on Water Environment Distinguished Service Award (2022)
• Society for Biotechnology, Japan, Paper Award (2018)
• Nagase Science and Technology Foundation Research Promotion Award (2017)
• Multiple best-paper awards from JSWE, SCEJ, and SBTJ (2001-2014)

Advising & Grants:

Tsuneda currently advises a large cohort of graduate researchers; names of individual students are not listed in the supplied text. His laboratory has been continuously funded for interdisciplinary projects coupling microbiology with environmental engineering, although explicit grant numbers or titles are not provided.

Laboratory & Teams:

The Tsuneda Laboratory (est. 1996) operates within Waseda University and the TWIns joint research center, maintaining collaborations with Tokyo Women’s Medical University, Juntendo University, and AIST. The team specializes in molecular microbial ecology, phage isolation/engineering, and advanced bioreactor technologies.