Arnold Caplan

Arnold Irving Caplan was an American stem cell biologist and professor at Case [Western Reserve University]. His research involved clinical applications of mesenchymal stem cells in treating human diseases.

Early life and education

Arnold Irving Caplan was born on January 5, 1942, in Chicago, Illinois.
He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from the Illinois Institute of Technology and completed his Ph.D. in Biochemistry at Johns [Hopkins School of Medicine|Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine].

Caplan joined Case Western Reserve University as an assistant professor in 1969, and was promoted to professor in 1981. He served as the founding director of the university's Skeletal Research Center. He held secondary appointments at the School of Engineering and the School of Medicine.
His primary research focus was the clinical application of mesenchymal stem cells to treating human diseases. Caplan performed research involving isolating MSCs from adult bone marrow in the late 1980s. This research helped demonstrate MSCs' ability to modulate the immune system, inhibit programmed cell death and scar formation stimulate blood vessel formation, and promote tissue-specific stem cell growth.
His work impacted treatments for multiple sclerosis, osteoarthritis, spinal cord injuries, cancer, and other conditions. Caplan authored over 400 scientific papers and held more than 20 patents related to MSC technology. He trained over 150 researchers during his career.
In 1992, he founded Osiris Therapeutics, a medical research company that commercialized MSC technology. Osiris Therapeutics became one of the first companies to develop allogeneic cell therapies and achieved regulatory clearance for a stem cell drug in 2012.

Caplan received the following accolades during his career:

Arnold Caplan was married to Bonnie Caplan for 58 years. They had two children and 6 grandchildren.