Haruo Matsubara

Victor Haruo Matsubara serves as an Associate Professor in Oral Restorative and Rehabilitative Sciences at the University of Western Australia's Dental School. His academic background includes a Doctor of Philosophy in Dentistry/Microbiology from the University of São Paulo, awarded in 2016 for his thesis on probiotic bacteria reducing Dectin-1 expression and altering cytokine profiles in human macrophages challenged with Candida albicans and lipopolysaccharide. He also holds a Master of Science in Dentistry from the same university in 2011, with a thesis on experimental oral colonization of Candida albicans in immunosuppressed mice treated with Lactobacillus species; a Specialization in Oral Implantology in 2010; and a Bachelor of Dental Surgery in 2007. Matsubara's career history features extensive teaching in prosthodontics across national and international institutions, including a position at Centro Universitário Herminio Ometto de Araras in Brazil from 2011 to 2013, prior to joining UWA in October 2017.

His research specializations encompass microbiology, biofilms, murine animal models, cell culture, and molecular biology, with a focus on developing alternative therapeutic strategies against oral pathogens, particularly probiotic-based approaches for managing periodontal disease, candidiasis, and peri-implantitis. Funded projects as principal investigator include the fabrication of antimicrobial light-cured polymeric hydrogels doped with silver nanoparticles and chlorhexidine for periodontitis and peri-implantitis management (2021-2023), NTX-I and TRAP5b as bone destruction markers in peri-implantitis (2021-2023), and an injectable polysaccharide for tooth-supporting structure regeneration (2019). Key publications include 'A novel antimicrobial hydrogel for the management of periodontal diseases' (International Dental Journal, 2023), 'Mucormycosis of the Mandible and Tongue: A Systematic Scoping Review' (International Dental Journal, 2024), 'Do dental implant therapies arouse signs and symptoms of temporomandibular disorders? A scoping review' (CRANIO, 2023), 'Comparison of heat production and bone architecture changes in the implant site preparation' (Odontology, 2023), and 'Probiotic lactobacilli inhibit early stages of Candida albicans biofilm development' (2016). Matsubara is a member of the editorial board of the International Dental Journal, has performed extensive publication peer reviews, and teaches units such as Restorative and Rehabilitative Sciences 5, Fundamentals of Clinical Dentistry 3, and Complex Oral Rehabilitation 1. Major awards and fellowships include Fellow of the Pierre Fauchard Academy (2022), Fellow of the Academy of Dentistry International (2023), Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, UWA Dental School Early-Career Research Award (2022), and 2020 Outstanding Tutor Award for DMD3.

Professional Email: victor.matsubara@uwa.edu.au