Paul is a biomedical scientist with over 14 years of research experience in disease modeling and translational medicine for cardiovascular, neuromuscular, and rare diseases. His work currently focuses on advancing precision health and medicine by pioneering novel applications of human pluripotent stem cells to accelerate drug discovery and de-risk clinical trials to address clinically unmet needs. Through his work, Paul is spearheading innovative projects with multiple federal agencies, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Department of Defense (DOD), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), along with several private companies and academic institutions. Additionally, he is working cross-functionally to translate several therapeutic candidates through preclinical studies and into clinical trials.

 

Paul received his bachelor’s degree in Microbiology from the University of Maryland and completed his graduate studies researching kidney and vascular progenitor cells at Harvard Medical School. He then spent a year working at the University of Southern California to continue his research on stem cell biology and regenerative medicine before subsequently receiving his Ph.D. in Integrative Molecular & Biomedical Sciences from Baylor College of Medicine, where he was the recipient of the Claude W. Smith Fellowship Award for Outstanding Research Performance and the Dean’s Award of Excellence. Paul then completed his postdoctoral training at Stanford University in the lab of Dr. Joseph Wu, where he continued pursuing his curiosity and longstanding interest in precision health and drug discovery using human pluripotent stem cells for translational medicine.

 

For his work in disease modeling and drug discovery, Paul received numerous competitive awards, including the NIH Ruth L. Kirschstein F31 and F32 National Research Service Awards, the R21 Exploratory/Developmental Research Award, and the R44 Small Business Innovation Research Award. In addition to the NIH, Paul is also a recipient of the Idea Development Award from the DOD, the Discovery Quest Award and the Translational Research Award from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), and other national and international awards from the American Heart Association (AHA) and the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA).

 

In his spare time, Paul enjoys playing volleyball, exploring new places, writing short stories, and conducting research on the health benefits of wine and whisky.