Simon Cool's Biography

Simon Cool, Senior Principal Investigator, Institute of Medical Biology, A*STAR, & Professor (Adjunct Research), National University of Singapore

Dr Cool began his scientific career at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia over 20 years ago. He received his BSc (hons) and PhD degrees from the University of Queensland, where he subsequently held a faculty position in the School of Biomedical Sciences. His areas of studies have included age-related changes in the structure of bone and teeth and the extracellular matrix compartment of skeletal tissue that guide stem cell behavior and wound repair. Dr Cool was invited to join the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, A*STAR, Singapore in 2003 as a principal investigator. He then joined A*STAR’s Institute of Medical Biology in 2008, shortly after its inception, to further his research in regenerative medicine. Currently, as Senior Principal Investigator of the Glycotherapeutics Group, Dr Cool is focused on developing novel glycosaminoglycan biomolecules that enhance wound repair and control adult human mesenchymal stem cell activity. Most particularly, he has developed glycotherapeutic compounds and adult stem cell-based therapies for the treatment of bone and cartilage injury, cardiovascular disease, and skin wounds. Dr Cool has filed over 50 patent applications across 12 families in the field of glycosaminoglycan biochemistry, regenerative medicine and stem cell science. He has more than 95 publications and continues to foster strong strategic collaborations both nationally and internationally with academic and industry groups. Dr Cool is an Adjunct Professor (Research) in the Orthopaedic Department at the National University of Singapore. Dr Cool is currently an elected member of the Council for the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society, Asia Pacific Chapter. He is an executive editor for the journal Gene, section editor for the Journal of Molecular Histology, and serves on the Editorial Boards of Biomaterials and Stem Cells and Development.