Dr Emma Lane given a leadership role in NECTAR
29 November 2010
NECTAR, the Network of European CNS Transplantation and Restoration, elected Dr Emma Lane as their new President-Elect at their 20th Annual meeting, held in Freiburg, Germany 25-27th of November 2010
NECTAR was founded 20 years ago and celebrated its 20th anniversary this year in Freiburg . NECTAR’s aim is to bring together European groups who share the common goal of protecting, repairing and restoring the central nervous system damaged through degenerative disease or injury. The main protagonists and now newer generations of scientists continue their research exploring cell transplantation and gene therapy as therapeutic strategies to improve the lives of patients with various neurological disorders.
NECTAR has always had an ethos of maintaining the standards of robust scientific, translational experimentation. A second fundamental keystone of its activities has been in nurturing the next generation of young scientists. PhD students and post-doctoral researchers are encouraged to play a significant role at the annual conference adding to the environment of vibrancy and collaboration that lies at the heart of this group.
Functional restoration in the central nervous system has attracted increasing attention recently, not only from scientists and clinicians worldwide, but also from patient foundations, media and healthcare systems. With planned or ongoing clinical trials in cell replacement, neuroprotection and gene therapy, and applications in Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease and stroke by our members, the relevance of NECTAR has never been greater.
Dr Lane was appointed lecturer in the Welsh School of Pharmacy in Summer 2009 and is also a co-Director of the Cardiff Brain Repair Group with Professors Stephen Dunnett and Anne Rosser in the School of Biosciences. Prior to her three years in the Brain Repair Centre in Cardiff, Emma spent two years in Sweden as a post-doc in the Units of Neuronal Survival and Basal Ganglia Pathophysiology, Lund University.
NECTAR website