Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
A WSU research position that has been discontinued has led to a new business in Palouse. Located in the former veterinary clinic on Main Street, Mathison Immuno Scientific, Inc., aims to start up Nov. 19.
The operation is led by Bruce Mathison, an 18-year research technologist supervisor at WSU.
Mathison and wife, Catherine, will now continue his work in their new business.
Catherine will also continue in her position as the Associate Dean of WSU’s Honors College.
“We started out at WSU in research, now my position is going away,” Mathison said. “We also wanted to coordinate our own research with others.”
The business will focus on cancer prevention and treatment, finding natural products to be used for antibiotics, anti-fungul and anti-viral applications.
To get set up, Mathison bought used and surplus equipment from WSU Surplus as well as labs and other facilities across the country. One item was a liquid nitrogen dewar from Florida. The container holds liquid nitrogen for transporting it from WSU, where they will purchase it, to Palouse to be stored in Mathison’s 17-liter tank.
Other equipment bought for the business includes centrifuges, a water bath, incubator and clean work benches which blow sterile air across a work surface.
“So you can do cell cultures without getting it contaminated,” said Mathison.
One of Mathison Immuno Scientific’s specific functions is to make monocolonal antibodies.
“Mono-specific, they bind only one epitope to an antigen,” said Mathison.
These are used in research and diagnostics with some used as a medicine.
Mathison said his business will sell these to other researchers.
“A lot of researchers will need an antibody but don’t have the facilities or personnel or time to do it,” said Mathison.
At WSU, the Tissue Culture Center, which provided monoclone antibodies, closed at the end of September.
“We’re hoping for these clients,” said Mathison. “So we’ve transplanted the idea of the tissue culture center… It’s a service we’re making available for not only WSU, but other universities and pharmaceutical companies,” said Mathison.
The Mathisons, who live outside of Diamond, will be the lone employess for the business.
They bought the 1,300-square-foot Palouse building because of the way it is set up, with large exam rooms to use as labs.
The former reception area will house the second part of the business. There, on shelves including one bought from Open Eye Consignment and another from Dot’s Vintage Funk in Palouse, Mathison will stock Dr. Mercola health products and supplements.
Mathison’s philosophy goes along with theirs, he said.
“We’re very similar,” he said. “Getting away from the typical western diet – the food supply adulterated with preservatives, artificial flavoring, coloring, processed foods.”
Overall, the corner building on Main Street just fit, said Mathison.
They initially looked for a place to rent.
“Then we looked at this building and it was basically ready to move in,” Mathison said.
“This is our first business. It’s a lot of work, it’s kind of scary.”
Mathison holds a master’s degree in animal sciences from WSU where he also did his undergraduate studies. He was born in Spokane and raised in Pullman.
One item yet to install for the business ia a floor-model centrifuge.
“About the size of a washing machine and weighs about 10 times as much,” Mathison said.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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