Mijo Simunovic Wins Award Recognizing Outstanding Early-Career Stem Cell Researchers
Simunovic is focused on engineering systems that more realistically replicate embryonic organs and tissues.
Mijo Simunovic has been named by the New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) to its 2023 class of NYSCF–Robertson Investigators, recognizing that their innovative stem cell research holds the potential to accelerate treatments and cures. An assistant professor of chemical engineering at Columbia Engineering, Simunovic’s research aims to elucidate the fundamental biology of the early mammalian embryo and in doing so, engineer systems that more realistically replicate organs and tissues, a major challenge in regenerative medicine.
Simunovic is one of three recipients of the Robertson Stem Cell Investigator Award, which focuses on supporting outstanding scientists and researchers early in their careers. The awards provide unrestricted seed funding – $1.5 million over five years – for scientists who have established their own, independent laboratories within the last six years.
Among their recent honors, Simunovic, who is also affiliated with the Department of Genetics and Development at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and a member of the Columbia Stem Cell Initiative, was named a 2023 Pew Scholar in Biomedical Sciences. By creating integrated stem cell and organoid models mimicking post-implantation embryogenesis, the Simunovic lab is uncovering insights into neglected areas of developmental biology with implications for reproductive disorders, infertility, and endometrial cancers.