Biography
Dr. Matar successfully implemented a long-term research program by partnering with different stakeholders at national and international levels. Her expertise is focused on research related to nutrition/immunology/cancer and establishing the role of prebiotics and probiotics on mucosal and tumoral immunity. Dr. Matar was pioneer in demonstrating the protective effects of probiotics within the Gut-Breast Axis. Additionally, her work on nutritional programming has led to a greater understanding of the mechanisms underlining the immunoprotective role of probiotics in modulating TLRs, cancer stem cells, and microRNAs. In collaboration with International Agency for Research on Cancer, a specialized agency of the World Health Organization, she is working toward development of microbiome-based health applications for chemoprevention of breast cancer.
Important publications
- Shahbazi, R*, Yasavoli-Sharahi, H*, Alsadi, N* and Ismail, N and Matar, C. (2020). Probiotics in Treatment of Viral Respiratory Infections and Neuroinflammation Disorders. Molecules 22;25(21):4891
- Graham E*, Mallet JF*, Jambi M*, Nishioka H, Homma K, Matar C. (2017) MicroRNA signature in the chemoprevention of functionally-enriched stem and progenitor pools (FESPP) by Active Hexose Correlated Compound (AHCC). Cancer Biology and Therapy 3;18(10):765-774
- Vuong T*, Mallet JF*, Ouzounouva, M, Rahbar S*, Hernandez, H, Herceg, Z, Matar C. (2016) Role of a polyphenol-enriched preparation on chemoprevention of mammary carcinoma through cancer stem cells and inflammatory pathways modulation. J Transl Med. 14;14(1):13
- Mallet JF*, Graham É*, Ritz BW, Homma K, Matar C. (2016) Active Hexose Correlated Compound (AHCC) promotes an intestinal immune response in BALB/c mice and in primary intestinal epithelial cell culture involving toll-like receptors TLR-2 and TLR-4 Eur J Nutr. 55(1):139-46
- Ouzounova M*, Vuong T*, Ancey PB, Ferrand M , Durand G, Le-Calvez Kelm F, Croce C, Matar C, Herceg Z, Hernandez-Vargas H. (2013) MicroRNA miR-30 family regulates non-attachment growth of breast cancer cells. BMC Genomics 2013 14 (1), 139
Recent awards
- 2021 – Research Impact Faculty’s Award: Recognizing excellence in research and outreach both nationally and internationally.
- June 2020 – Union for International Cancer Control UICC Technical Fellowship, in collaboration with the International Agency for Research on Cancer.
- 2016 – 2018 – Academic member of the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) North America Advisory Committee.
- 2016 – Best Research Award (Japan): In recognition of an outstanding contribution to research in nutrition and integrative medicine.