He published more than 650 papers in reputed journals; the h-index is 115 (Google scholar, As of 2022[update]).
[2] Maeda studied at Tohoku University with a bachelor's degree in 1962, at the University of California, Davis with a master's degree in 1964, and a doctorate in 1967 at Tohoku.
He was a post-doctoral at the Sidney Farber Cancer Institute of Harvard University from 1967 to 1971, he also acquired the medical doctorate there.
Maeda developed the neocarzinostatin "SMANCS" with a copolymer of styrene and maleic acid in 1979.
Afterward, Maeda and his student Yasuhiro Matsumura discovered the Enhanced permeability and retention effect (ERP effect) of macromolecular drugs in 1986, which laid an important foundation for the cancer-targeted therapy (CAncer Stromal Targeting; CAST).