GRANITE CITY HIGH SCHOOL
CLASS OF 1974

Dr. Paul Cooke is a native of Granite City. He is the son of the late Willie P. and Mary E. Cooke, and the grandson of Birdie Ridings, all of Granite City. Dr. Cooke is a 1974 graduate of Granite City High School, where he was recognized as a National Merit Scholar his senior year. He attended Frohardt and Parkview Elementary Schools and Grigsby Junior High School.

Dr. Cooke was the valedictorian of his college class and received a BA degree summa cum laude from Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, in 1978. He then received a Ph.D. in Physiology in 1983 from the University of California-Berkeley. Following an NIH Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of California-San Francisco, he joined the Department of Veterinary Biosciences in the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Illinois as an Assistant Professor in 1987.

He was promoted to Associate Professor in 1993 and to his present position as Professor in 1998. In 2004, Dr. Cooke was the recipient of the Billie A. Field Endowed Chair in Reproductive Biology, the first endowed chair position in the history of the College of Veterinary Medicine.

Dr. Cooke has received numerous other national and university honors and awards. In 1996, Dr. Cooke received the Young Andrologist Award, presented by the American Society of Andrology to the outstanding scientist under age 40 working in male reproductive biology. From 1997-2000, he was a University Scholar, the highest honor bestowed on young faculty at the University of Illinois. He received the Research Excellence award in 2000 and the Pfizer Animal Health Award for Research Excellence in 2001 from the University of Illinois, and in 2004 was the recipient of the Dr. Gordon and Mrs. Helen Kruger All-Around Excellence Award from the College of Veterinary Medicine. He has consistently been named to the List of Teachers Ranked Excellent during his tenure at the University of Illinois.

Dr. Cooke has been a speaker at many international and national meetings on male and female reproductive biology and has published over 140 article and book chapters. He has served on numerous scientific committees for the National Institutes of Health and other federal agencies. He has served or is currently serving on the editorial boards of eight scientific journals in the fields of endocrinology, reproduction and toxicology. He was the Assistant Director of the NIH Training Program in Reproductive Biology from 1999-2003, and he is presently Associate Editor of the scientific journal Biology of Reproduction.

Dr. Cooke’s research involves the role of hormones and other factors in the differentiation, development, growth and function of male and female reproductive organs. His research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the National Science Foundation and the American Heart Association, as well as numerous other private and public national, state and university agencies. Dr. Cooke presently serves as one of the Principal Investigators on a U54 Center Grant from the National Institutes of Health. This grant, the first Center Grant awarded to the university by NIH, involves studies of the mechanism by which hormones regulate embryo implantation and overall female reproductive health.

Paul Cooke and his wife, Irene, are the parents of a daughter, Jenny, and a son, Brandon.