Dr. Paula C. Bickford is Distinguished Professor in the Center of Excellence for Aging & Brain Repair, and Professor, Neurosurgery & Brain Repair in the Morsani College of Medicine. Her research focuses on the use of nutritional and stem cell derived exosome approaches for regenerative medicine in neurodegenerative diseases and brain injury. She and her co-authors were the first to publish an effect of botanical products on the brain in 1998. She has demonstrated a neuroprotective effect of blueberries and spirulina in many neurodegenerative disease models, which was then extended to examine if nutritional supplements could impact stem cells to improve regenerative capacity. Her current work has shown that exosomes from adipose derived stem cells can rescue brain injury. The exosomes can be delivered up to 48 hours post injury and interact with secondary injury mechanisms such as neuroinflammation. She is extending that work to a model of Parkinsons disease. She is a charter member of the National Academy of Inventors. In 2012, she was elected AAAS Fellow for distinguished contributions to the field of aging research-particularly as a leader in the field of nutritional neuroscience, and for outstanding service. She was awarded the William S. Middleton award in 2023, which is the top award to a basic scientist at the Veterans Health Administration.