Professor Jose M. Polo FAA is the inaugural Director of the Adelaide Centre for Epigenetics (ACE), the Program leader at the South Australian immunoGENomics Cancer Institute (SAiGENCI), University of Adelaide, and Group Leader in the Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology and the Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute at Monash University. An expert in cellular reprogramming, epigenetics, and stem cell biology, he has pioneered in vitro models of placenta and early human embryos. His research also spans cancer, ageing, and neurodegenerative diseases. His work has been recognised with multiple awards including the Metcalf Award from the National Stem Cell Foundation, the NHMRC Fiona Stanley Research Excellence Award and the President’s Medal Award from the Australian and New Zealand Society for Cell and Developmental Biology. He was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science in 2024. In 2016, he co-founded Cell Mogrify Pty Ltd to translate reprogramming into therapies, earning several accolades, including the 2019 MSD's Innovation Award.