Simon Maksour

Dr. Simon Maksour serves as the Race Against Dementia – Dementia Australia Research Foundation Research Fellow (2025-2030) within the School of Medical Sciences at the University of Sydney's Faculty of Medicine and Health. His research bridges molecular neuroscience and therapeutic development for neurodegenerative disorders.

Dr. Maksour's research focuses on modeling neurodegenerative diseases using induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to generate neural cells and organoids. His work spans Alzheimer's disease, Motor Neuron Disease, Friedreich's ataxia, Vanishing White Matter disease, Huntington's disease, and Parkinson's disease. Current projects target microglia-specific therapies for Alzheimer's disease, including gene therapy validation in advanced stem cell models and microglial cell replacement strategies.

His publication record demonstrates consistent output in high-impact journals, with recent first-author papers in BMC Biology (2025), Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience (2024), and Antioxidants & Redox Signaling (2024). Research themes include:

• Neurosciences and Mental Health
• Healthy Ageing
• Cellular/Molecular mechanisms of neurodegeneration
• Therapeutic interventions for dementia

Dr. Maksour received the Australasian Society for Stem Cell Research (ASSCR) Rising Star Award for his contributions to stem cell modeling of neurodegenerative conditions. His work has been featured in media outlets including 2GB Sydney and UOW communications.

As an active supervisor, he offers PhD and honours projects in microglia-targeted Alzheimer's therapies, microglial replacement strategies, and neuroprotective compound screening using brain organoids. His Race Against Dementia Fellowship provides dedicated funding through 2030 for developing novel therapeutic approaches.