Matt completed his BSc and MSc in Cancer Pharmacology in the University of Auckland, New Zealand. Matt was awarded the University of Auckland Doctoral Scholarship to carry out his PhD in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology.
In his PhD, he explored alternative explanations for fetal microchimerism, a phenomenon describing the presence of fetal cells throughout the mother’s body during and beyond pregnancy. In his research, he provided evidence that the placenta, a fetal organ, releases copious amounts of extracellular vesicles carrying fetal DNA that may potentially be delivered into maternal cells, creating fetal microchimerism.
Since then, Matt has worked in the hospital managing and analysing clinical research trials in the Department of Anaesthesia.
In February 2025, Matt moved to London to work as a Postdoctoral Associate in the Frost Lab, where he will explore the role of transposons as gene regulatory elements in normal placental development, as well as in pregnancy complications.
Check out a couple of Matt’s publications from his previous lab below:
Kang, M., et al., Biodistribution of extracellular vesicles following administration into animals: A systematic review. Journal of Extracellular Vesicles, 2021. 10(8): p. e12085.
Kang, M., et al., The biodistribution of placental and fetal extracellular vesicles during pregnancy following placentation.Clinical Science, 2023. 137(5):385- 399