Education

Ph.D., Applied Life Sciences, Kyoto University, Japan (2001)

Research Areas and Projects

Dr. Matoba’s research is focused on the development of protein pharmaceuticals.  To this end, they utilize a plant-based transient protein production system. This technology enables quick transition of candidate proteins from discovery and preclinical studies to clinical testing and ultimately provides cost-effective vaccines and therapeutics for developing countries.  They employ multidisciplinary experimental methodologies including protein engineering, biochemistry, analytical chemistry, antiviral research and immunology.  Currently, one of their projects is developing a vaccine against inflammatory bowel disease and colitis-associated colon cancer.  Another project is investigating the cancer diagnostic and therapeutic potentials of a “lectibody”, an antibody-lectin chimera that can recognize a broad spectrum of cancer cells.  Our projects are funded by NIH, DoD and Helmsley Charitable Trust.