Functional Neural Transplantation III (Progress in Brain Research): Primary and Stem Cell Therapies for Brain Repair, Part II: Volume 201

As a neuroanatomist and developmental neurobiologist, during the 1970s Björklund’s lab originated reliable methods for transplantation of embryonic tissues into brain that pioneered practical cell transplantation in the central nervous system, providing the basis for technologies that are now used by laboratories world-wide. In parallel, work in the field has progressed from basic anatomical and developmental studies in experimental animals, via applications for assessing cell replacement and repair using primary and stem cells in the damaged brain, and now underpinning the majority of methods in development for cell therapy in patients. His laboratory continues to analyse the fundamental neurobiology and principles of cell transplantation, regeneration and integration in the CNS, as well as originating the first trials of effective clinical cell transplantation (for Parkinson’s disease) in patients