Paul Tesar received his undergraduate degree in biology from Case Western Reserve University (CWRU). He went on to earn his Ph.D. from the University of Oxford as a recipient of a prestigious scholarship from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). His graduate studies with Richard Gardner and Ron McKay provided a paradigm shift on how we understand and utilize stem cells for research and medicine. This work culminated in a landmark paper in Nature describing the discovery of a new type of pluripotent stem cell, epiblast stem cells.

Tesar joined the faculty at CWRU in 2010 and is currently the Dr. Donald and Ruth Weber Goodman Professor of Innovative Therapeutics at CWRU School of Medicine. His laboratory has pioneered new regenerative approaches to treat myelin disorders of the central nervous system, including multiple sclerosis, neuromyelitis optica, pediatric leukodystrophies, cerebral palsy and brain cancer.

Tesar’s scientific achievements have been recognized with a number of prestigious honors, including being named a Robertson Investigator at the New York Stem Cell Foundation and an elected senior member of the National Academy of Inventors. Additionally, he received the International Society for Stem Cell Research Outstanding Young Investigator Award, the New York Stem Foundation–Robertson Stem Cell Prize and the NIH Landis Award for Outstanding Mentorship. Tesar was also recognized as one of Crain’s Cleveland Business’s “Forty Under 40” and named a “HomeGrown Hero” in academic research by Cleveland.com/The Plain Dealer. Tesar also co-founded a Cleveland-based biotechnology company, Convelo Therapeutics, to advance new remyelination therapies into clinical testing.

Recent work led by HHMI Hanna H. Gray Fellow Marissa Scavuzzo has expanded the Tesar lab’s focus to include the role that enteric glia play in neurodevelopment and disease.