• changes in neural progenitors and in the extent of hemorrhage and apoptotic response following spinal cord injury are associated with impaired regenerative ability. Secondary response to injury can be reduced by targeting some of the pathways involved in these responses recently identified in her laboratory.

• endogenous neuroblast migration can be effectively imaged in vivo by MRI using modified contrast agents.

• the human spinal cord contains distinct and dynamic populations of neural precursors which are developmentally regulated and FGF signaling/FGFR1 seems important for maintaining the undifferentiated state in human neurospheres as in the regenerating salamander spinal cord.

• PAD enzymes are important regulators of neural injury response in animal models and in human neural cells in vitro, where they are effectors of calcium-dependent apoptosis

• new putative PAD inhibitors, developed through a close collaboration with medicinal chemists, are potential neuroprotective agents

• paediatric ADSC are highly plastic and can be valuable for autologous cell therapy in children, and in combination with novel nanomaterials offer much promise for the repair of craniofacial deficits in these patients. This work is underpinned by valuable collaborations with clinicians and material scientists.

Altogether she has made a sustained and internationally recognized contribution to the regeneration field and the book on regeneration she edited (Cellular and Molecular Basis of Regeneration from Invertebrates to Humans; Eds. P. Ferretti and J. Geraudie. John Wiley and Sons, New York. 1998) was very well received and sold out. She has also had a major involvement in editing an electronic book on tissue engineering (2003, http://www.oulu.fi/spareparts/ebook_topics_in_t_e/list_of_contr.html) and a text entitled “Embryos, Genes and Birth Defects” (2006; http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/book/10.1002/9780470090121).