Dr KOTAKA Masayo

Address

(Office): Rm 621, Mong Man Wai Building

(Lab): Rm 611, Mong Man Wai Building
 

Phone

(Office): (852) 3943 1218

(Lab): -
Fax
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Education

Ph.D. in Biochemistry, CUHK
B.Sc. (Hons) in Biochemistry, CUHK

Position

  • Research Assistant Professor, School of Life Sciences

Research Interests

  • Protein Crystallography
  • Infectious diseases

Representative Publications

  1. Cheung YW, Kwok J, Law AWL, Watt RM, Kotaka M*, & Tanner JA*. (2013). Structural basis for discriminatory recognition of Plasmodium lactate dehydrogenase by a DNA aptamer. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 110:15967-15972. (Co-corresponding authorship)
  2. Wang Y, Dutta S, Karlberg H, Devignot S, Weber F, Hao Q, Tan YJ, Mirazimi A, Kotaka M. (2012). Structure of Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus nucleoprotein: Superhelical homo-oligomers and the role of caspase-3 cleavage. J. Virol. 86:12294-12303.
  3. Chen MW*, Kotaka M*, Vonrhein C, Bricogne G, Rao F, Chuah ML, Svergun D, Schneider G, Liang ZX, Lescar J. (2012). Structural insights into the regulatory mechanism of the response regulator RocR from Pseudomonas aeroginosa in cyclic di-GMP signalling. J. Bacteriol. 194:4837-46. (Co-first authorship).
  4. Kotaka M, Graeff R, Zhang L, Lee HC, Hao Q. (2012). Structural studies of intermediates along the cyclization pathway of Aplysia ADP-ribosyl cyclase. J. Mol Biol. 415:514-526.
  5. Kotaka M, Kong R, Qureshi I, Ho QS, Sun H, Liew CW, Goh LP, Cheung P, Mu Y, Lescar J, Liang ZX. (2009). Structure and catalytic mechanism of the thioesterase CalE7 in enediyne biosynthesis. J. Biol Chem. 284:15739-49.
  6. Kotaka M, Johnson C, Lamb H, Hawkins AR, Ren J, and Stammers DK. (2008). Structural analysis of the recognition of the negative regulator NmrA & DNA by the zinc finger from the GATA-type transcription factor AreA. J. Mol Biol. 381:373-82. (Selected for Faculty of 1000 Biology).
  7. Kotaka M, Ye H, Alag R, Hu G, Bozdech Z, Presier PR, Yoon HS, Lescar J. (2008). Crystal Structure of the FK506-binding domain of the Plasmodium falciparum FKBP35 protein in complex with FK506. Biochemistry. 47:5951-61.
  8. Kotaka M, Ren J, Lockyer M, Hawkins AR, and Stammers DK. (2006) Structural basis for the allosteric transition in E. coli aspartokinase III and inhibition by lysine. J. Biol Chem. 281:31544-31552.
  9. Ren J*, Kotaka M*, Lockyer M, Lamb HK, Hawkins AR, Stammers DK. (2005). GTP cyclohydrolase II structure and mechanism. J. Biol Chem. 280:36912-36919. (Co-first authorship)
  10. Kotaka M, Gover S, Vandeputte-Rutten L, Au SWN, Lam VMS, Adams MJ. (2005). Structural studies of glucose-6-phosphate and NADP+ binding to human glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase. Acta Cryst D61:495-504.

Research Grants

  • 2013- Research Grants Council (RGC) General Research Fund. "Human Dha kinase, not just an enzyme: Investigations into the molecular mechanism of its dual enzymatic activity and its role in the negative regulation of MDA5-mediated innate antiviral signaling" Research Grants Council, Hong Kong. HK$ 738,345.
  • 2012- Research Grants Council (RGC) General Research Fund. 2012. "Structural determination of Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever viral nucleocapsid protein" Research Grants Council, Hong Kong. HK$ 980,000.
  • 2010-2013 Research Grants Council (RGC) General Research Fund. 2010. "Towards the understanding of hyperactivation of RIG-I signalling pathway by influenza A H5N1: Structural studies on influenza A viral RNA recognition and discrimination by RIG-I." Research Grants Council, Hong Kong. HK$ 1,324,160.