Dr. Toshifumi (Toshi) Yokota is a highly accomplished Professor of Medical Genetics at the University of Alberta and holds the prestigious Friends of Garrett Cumming Research & Muscular Dystrophy Canada Endowed Research Chair. With a Ph.D. from the University of Tokyo, Dr. Yokota previously worked as a JSPS Research Fellow at Imperial College London and a Research Associate at the Children’s National Medical Center in Washington DC before joining the University of Alberta. 
Dr. Yokota’s pioneering research has led to significant advancements in the treatment of muscular dystrophy. The study, which was the first of its kind, demonstrated that a cocktail of novel antisense oligonucleotides can restore gene function and improve muscle strength in a severe animal model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) by modulating the splicing of gene transcripts called mRNA. This research directly led to a collaboration with a pharmaceutical company and the development of viltolarsen, an FDA-approved antisense oligonucleotide drug for the treatment of DMD, which was approved by the FDA in 2020 after clinical trials showing significant improvements in muscle function conducted in Japan, Canada, and the United States. 
More recently, Dr. Yokota and the research team at the University of Alberta employed an approach using synthetic DNA-like molecules called gapmers to interfere with the production of a toxic protein that destroys the muscles in facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD), the third most common form of muscular dystrophy. This treatment was able to knock down more than 99 percent of the toxic gene products called DUX4 in patient-derived cells, resulting in morphological and functional improvement. 
Dr. Yokota has received numerous career awards, including the JSPS Young Scholar Award, NIH Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award, and BioAlberta Scientific Achievement and Innovation Award, has published over 100 papers, edited 3 books, and served as a board member for numerous journals and organizations.