I have over 25 years of leadership in identifying novel heparan sulphate (HS) glycosaminoglycan (GAG) sugars within stem cell niches and repairing tissues. These sugars sequester, protect, hold, and present key growth factors to stem cells. I have successfully used this complexation paradigm to unlock pathways critical to stem cell biology, mainly signalling cascades essential for maintaining naïve phenotypes. I have also shown that this strategy effectively develops bioadditives for manufacturing cell therapy devices for treating vascular ischemia/stroke, cartilage regeneration, and bone repair. A significant part of this pioneering effort has been manufacturing HS variants that mimic sugars in native tissues. Anchoring this strategy is my novel discovery platform that identifies specific domains in HS chains that form complexes with growth factors and growth factor receptors to generate powerful signalling complexes that mediate cell-fate decisions and potentiate tissue regeneration. Using this blueprint, I have developed a library of bio-inspired HS variants and subjected them to structure/function analyses. I strongly advocate for the safety/tolerability testing of HS materials and continue to lead industry-based projects in this area. I have considerable experience leading outcome-focused multidisciplinary research teams across all scientific discovery and translation aspects, with a proven track record in developing transformative technology and biotechnology entrepreneurship. I lead a long-standing effort to bank mesenchymal stem cells cultured in HS-supplemented media to treat age-related diseases (pre-clinical stage only) and have been working to transition this project to a commercial facility to develop suitable manufacturing and banking protocols for future clinical testing. Through these various opportunities, I have mentored numerous PhD students in Australia, Singapore, and the UK, which has helped accelerate research opportunities and led to significant gains in generating novel findings.