Matin is a molecular ecologist who earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in plant systematics and ecology. She later moved to Japan as a MEXT scholarship recipient for her PhD at Chiba University. During her PhD, she conducted research on "Phylogeography and population genetics of a pantropical plant with sea-drifted seeds: Ipomoea pes-caprae (Convolvulaceae)." Through this study of long-distance dispersal plants, she discovered that many mangrove species also possess the remarkable ability to disperse over vast distances. Their seedlings, known as propagules, can remain viable for up to three months while drifting in the ocean, carried by currents to expand their distribution range. This sparked her interest in mangroves and led her to attend two conservation genetics workshops in Okinawa-Iriomote, Japan, where she learned about the resilient nature of mangroves and their extraordinary capacity to adapt to harsh environments.
Following her PhD, Matin joined the Molecular Ecology Lab in Kyoto University, as a postdoctoral scholar. During her time there, she made a key discovery: the concept of “senescence synchrony” in plants. This novel finding demonstrated how, despite their inability to move, plants can alter their exposure to the environment through phenological responses to environmental cues, driven by changes in gene expression, which often rely on epigenetic variations. Fascinated by how plants like mangroves adapt to stressful environments, Matin sought to combine her molecular ecology expertise with epigenetic research, focusing on plants that naturally endure high levels of environmental stress.
This ambition led her to OIST in Okinawa for her next postdoc, one of the world’s main habitats for mangroves. Her project, titled "Epigenome dynamics of mangrove trees in different natural environments," was awarded a prestigious JSPS fellowship through the competitive application process in Japan.
The findings from her research at OIST revealed promising insights into the extraordinary mechanisms mangroves use to withstand extreme environmental stress. Building on these discoveries, Matin continued her work as a staff scientist at OIST, where she initiated the generation of draft genomes for Okinawa's native mangroves and introduced mangroves as potential model plants for studying epigenetic changes in response to stresses caused by climate change. Her research further explores epigenetic mechanisms related to mangroves' evolutionary histories, geographic range limits, and responses to transient environmental stressors.
Matin's research was later awarded the prestigious JST FOREST (Fusion Oriented REsearch for Disruptive Science and Technology) grant, which supports groundbreaking and interdisciplinary research by early-career scientists. This substantial, long-term grant provides support over seven years, with the possibility of extension to ten, and is designed to foster independence and career development for young researchers. In recognition of her achievements, Matin was promoted to Science and Technology Associate (STA) at OIST, where she continues her research as an independent principal investigator (PI). Her work focuses on the functional analysis of epigenomic changes in mangroves and other tropical and subtropical plant species. Matin’s research underscores the potential of epigenetic strategies to enhance plant resilience in these ecosystems, particularly in critical habitats like mangroves, which provide coastal protection and support biodiversity.