2012 Annual Scientific Meeting

Professor Fin Biering-Sorensen

Medical Director at Clinic for Spinal Cord Injuries, Copenhagen University Hospital and Clinical Professor in Spinal Cord Injuries, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

President 1993-99 of Nordic Medical Society of Paraplegia, President 1996-2000 of Danish Society of Rehabilitation, Vice-president 2005-2008 of Danish Association for Neurorehabilitation, and President 2010-2012 of Inter­national Spinal Cord Society.

Published over 460 papers, including 240 in peer-reviewed journals, and 25 chapters in national and international textbooks.

Mr Goran Lagerstrom

Goran Lagerstrom, born 1945, has been on the board of the Spinalis Foundation of Sweden for more than 20 years. Through his background in the foundation Göran has gained extensive knowledge regarding the challenges to develop relevant rehabilitation for persons with a spinal cord injury.

Since 2009 Göran has been responsible for a cooperation between the Spinalis Foundation and the Government of Botswana to establish a unit for SCI rehabilitation in Gaborone, Botswana. In his “civilian” life Göran, now retired, has been a marketing strategist and business entrepreneur. 

Mrs Anna-Carin Lagerstrom

Anna-Carin, currently project manager of the Spinalis Foundation’s project “Life Competence – Aging with Physical Impairments” has pioneered the fields of health and lifestyle for persons with SCI. She has developed a concept for health promotion, “Spinalis Health Navigator®” which has been introduced in several SCI units in Sweden.

The concept includes patient information, health education and clinical tools to support a healthy lifestyle. Anna-Carin is frequently engaged as a lecturer and educator and has lectured in Sweden, Norway, Iceland, USA, India and Botswana.

Prof.Dr Manfred Stohrer

Former Chairman Neuro-Urology (retired); Consultant ,Neuro-Urology - University of Essen and Technical University of Munich, Germany.

Research in Neurourology, Urinary Incontinence, Urodynamics, Urology of Spinal Cord Injury: Surgical and Conservative Treatment; Urinary Tract Infections.

Special procedures: Botulinum A Toxin in Neurogenic Detrusor-overactivity; Autoaugmentation

Dr Michael Fitzharris

Michael Fitzharris is Associate Director of the Monash University Accident Research Centre and heads the Regulation and In-depth Crash Investigation team. His principal research focus is on the impact of road injury on health and its associated financial cost to the community. Much of his research work is conducted for governments, in Australia and internationally. Michael established the Accident Research Centre at Monash University South Africa and has active research partnerships in South Africa, Botswana and Namibia. He is the current Chair of the Road Traffic Injury Sub-Committee of the ISCOS Prevention Committee.

Professor Martin Pera

Martin Pera is Professor of Stem Cell Sciences at the University of Melbourne, the Florey Neuroscience Institute, and the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute for Medical Research. He serves as Program Leader for Stem Cells Australia, the Australian Research Council Special Research Initiative in Stem Cell Sciences.  His research interests include the cell biology of human pluripotent stem cells, early human development, and germ cell tumours.  Pera was among a small number of researchers who pioneered the isolation and characterisation of pluripotent stem cells from human germ cell tumours of the testis, work that provided an important framework for the development of human embryonic stem cells.  His laboratory at Monash University was the second in the world to isolate embryonic stem cells from the human blastocyst, and the first to describe their differentiation into somatic cells in vitro.  He has provided extensive advice to state, national and international regulatory authorities on the scientific background to human embryonic stem cell research.