Full Name
Dr Masaaki Iwaki
Job Title
Research Scientist
Speaker Bio
Masaaki Iwaki, PhD, is a Japanese microbiologist and toxinologist. Born in Tokyo in 1959, he earned a BSc in Plant Pathology (1982), an MSc in Microbiology (1984), and a PhD in 1990 from the University of Tokyo, with a dissertation on aflatoxin B1-binding macromolecules in experimental animals and cultured cells.
He began his career in 1984 as a research scientist at the National Institute of Health (Tokyo), then pursued postdoctoral training at the Institut Pasteur in Paris between 1993 and 1995. Returning to Japan, he continued as a research scientist at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, focusing on bacterial toxins, toxoids, and antitoxins until 2020. From 2020 to 2025, he was affiliated with the Research Center for Biosafety AND EXPERIMENTAL ANIMALS of the same institute, before joining the Japan Institute for Health Security as a research scientist in the Department of Quality Control.
His research has centered on laboratory testing of diphtheria and tetanus toxoids, the development of alternative methods to animal testing (3Rs) for vaccine and antitoxin quality control, and the pathogenicity of Corynebacterium diphtheriae and Corynebacterium ulcerans. He has elucidated toxin modes of action, contributed to vaccine potency assays such as ELISA systems, and investigated zoonotic transmission of toxigenic corynebacteria from animals to humans.
Dr. Iwaki is the author of numerous peer-reviewed publications in international journals and has contributed to the standardization of national and international reference materials, including equine botulinum antitoxin and tetanus toxoid standards. Internationally, he has served as a temporary adviser to the World Health Organization on multiple occasions, including guideline revisions for diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis vaccines, as well as initiatives to reduce animal use in biologicals quality control. Recognized for his expertise in bacterial toxinology, biosafety, and vaccine regulation, he has become a leading figure in bridging scientific research and public health policy at both the national and global levels.
He began his career in 1984 as a research scientist at the National Institute of Health (Tokyo), then pursued postdoctoral training at the Institut Pasteur in Paris between 1993 and 1995. Returning to Japan, he continued as a research scientist at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, focusing on bacterial toxins, toxoids, and antitoxins until 2020. From 2020 to 2025, he was affiliated with the Research Center for Biosafety AND EXPERIMENTAL ANIMALS of the same institute, before joining the Japan Institute for Health Security as a research scientist in the Department of Quality Control.
His research has centered on laboratory testing of diphtheria and tetanus toxoids, the development of alternative methods to animal testing (3Rs) for vaccine and antitoxin quality control, and the pathogenicity of Corynebacterium diphtheriae and Corynebacterium ulcerans. He has elucidated toxin modes of action, contributed to vaccine potency assays such as ELISA systems, and investigated zoonotic transmission of toxigenic corynebacteria from animals to humans.
Dr. Iwaki is the author of numerous peer-reviewed publications in international journals and has contributed to the standardization of national and international reference materials, including equine botulinum antitoxin and tetanus toxoid standards. Internationally, he has served as a temporary adviser to the World Health Organization on multiple occasions, including guideline revisions for diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis vaccines, as well as initiatives to reduce animal use in biologicals quality control. Recognized for his expertise in bacterial toxinology, biosafety, and vaccine regulation, he has become a leading figure in bridging scientific research and public health policy at both the national and global levels.
