Michael Blaber

Dr. Blaber’s research focuses on understanding protein structure and biophysical properties, and the application of that knowledge to the development of biopharmaceutical proteins for human benefit. Engineered FGF-1, the protein Trefoil is developing as a treatment for corneal diseases, was invented in his laboratory. Five patents were issued related to work on FGF-1 mutants from the Blaber lab, which have been licensed to Trefoil. Michael has been on the faculty of Florida State for more than 20 years and has been a full professor there since 2009. Early in his career, prior to beginning graduate studies, Michael worked in research at Genentech, where he was the 120th employee. He holds a B.A. in Biochemistry/ Molecular Biology from the University of California at Santa Barbara and a Ph.D. in Biological Chemistry from the University of California Irvine (in the laboratory of Dr. Ralph A. Bradshaw). After graduating, Blaber was a Postdoctoral Fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Brian Matthews, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Oregon.