Projects and goals:

• Identification and characterization of the adult "stem cell niche" in human and animal tendons
• Enhancement of the regenerative capacity of damaged tendons with adult stem cells
• Elucidating the role of nutrition (particularly sugars) in tendon healing, using an animal model (rat)
• Developing novel strategies for efficient healing of large bone defects, by transplantation of adult stem cells from various tissues and of biological factors ("small molecules") in a rat model. 
• Reconstruction of functional tendon-bone connections
• Identification of molecular and cellular processes in the ageing tendon and bone