Olle Lindvall

Lund Stem Cell Centre, Lund University

Dr. Olle Lindvall is Professor of Clinical Neurology and Chairman of the Division of Neurology at the University Hospital, Lund, Sweden. He has served as Chairman of the Swedish Movement Disorder Society 1995-1998, Vice-Dean of the Medical Faculty at the University of Lund 1997-1999, elected member of the Board of the Swedish Research Council (medical division) 2001-2006, clinical coordinator in EU-sponsored integrated project EuroStemCell 2003-2007, and Chairman of the Steering Committee for Nordic Centers of Excellence in Molecular Medicine 2003-2007. He has received numerous Prizes and Awards. Since 2004 Dr. Lindvall has been a member of the Board of the International Society for Stem Cell Research, and since 2005 a member of the Board of Reviewing Editors for SCIENCE and a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.  He recently led the The ISSCR Task Force for the Clinical Translation of Stem Cells, an international group of experts who developed the Guidelines for the Clinical Translation of Stem Cells.

Since 1983 Dr. Lindvall has headed the clinical neurotransplantation program in  Lund. This program has pioneered cell replacement strategies and been the first to show proof-of-principle, i.e., that transplanted neurons can survive, grow, restore transmitter release, become functionally integrated, and give rise to clinically measurable improvements in the diseased, 50-60 year old human brain. Current research interests in Dr. Lindvall’s laboratory are the development of stem cell-based approaches for cell replacement in Parkinson’s disease and stroke, and of gene therapeutic strategies for neuroprotection and neuroregeneration in Parkinson’s disease. Much focus is on the role and possible therapeutic relevance of neurogenesis from the adult brain’s own neural stem cells in stroke and epilepsy.