As a part of building the Center’s collaborations with Stanford faculty in the medical school, Ken Smith assisted in the organization and facilitation of the School’s Spinal Cord Injury conference on November 16 and 17, 2012. This meeting brought together top researchers from Stanford, other major academic institutions, government, and non-profits to examine the potential for treatment of spinal cord injuries through stem cell-based treatments. In particular, the conference addressed the possibility of treating chronic injuries, a new paradigm for the field. Such treatment of existing disability has potential application to treating the chronic diseases of an aging population. Ken and the Center team also assisted the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine in the creation of a more general conference that occurred the same week.