Research interests and main foci:

• Adult Stem Cells
• Regenerative Medicine
• Aging Processes
• Woundhealing
• Tissue Engineering
• Label-free Cell detection

Focus and Vision: Until March 2015, Univ.-Prof. Dr. Günter Lepperdinger was affiliated with the Institute of Biomedical Aging Research at the Leopold-Franzens University of Innsbruck, Austria. There, he studied aging mechanisms in stem cells intensively. In the foreground, his research group dealt with molecular biological questions in the context of differentiation potential and stress resistance of mesenchymal stroma/stem cells on the one hand. On the other hand, the group started to work on the development of label-free cell detection methods to monitor proliferation and differentiation of cells in vitro and in vivo. The third focus point was the in-vitro-development of human bone substitutes in course of highly interdisciplinary research projects (DiaLife, VascuBone). The newly founded group at the Division of Genetics, Department of Cell Biology, University of Salzburg, will intensively work on the elucidation of aging processes on a molecular and physiological level, with a focus on the role of adult stem cells Another point of attention will be scaffold-guided 3D cell culture to reconstruct tissue, especially bone, in an in-vitro situation. This includes tight investigations of stem cell niches and could be applied as substitution of animal trials in the future.