Director Kompass Health Associates, Centre for Regenerative Health, Sports Performance & Research – Auckland, New Zealand; Director Shockwave & Isokinetic Centre – Melbourne, Australia; Sr. Surgeon & Adj. Prof. AUVA-Trauma Centre & Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Experimental & Clinical Traumatology – Vienna, Austria; Director Kinematics Centre – Victoria, Australia; Research Assistant BHSc.(Health Sciences) PG Dip. (Psychology) MHSc. University of Auckland, New Zealand; Sr. Lecturer, Podiatric Surgery Dept., Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand. – ECM components are considered essential mediators in the niche for the maintenance of stem cell identity, expression, and activation. It simultaneously provides the niche structural integrity, and physically separates the stem cell pool from other tissue resident cells. Stem cells sense & respond to the composition, porosity & stiffness of the ECM directly interacting with it via integrin focal adhesions.