Dr. Anderson-Erisman is the current President of the North American SCI Consortium (NASCIC). She is also a Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the MetroHealth Medical Center and Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) School of Medicine, Associate Director of the Institute for Functional Restoration, and Director of the Northeast Ohio Regional Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Model System based at the MetroHealth Rehabilitation Institute. She has lived with a cervical spinal cord injury for 31 years.

Dr. Bambrick is a Program Director in the Division of Neuroscience in Extramural Programs at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) in the NIH. She manages a portfolio of grants and cooperative agreements in the areas of spinal cord injury, peripheral nerve injury, and axonal regeneration. Her work has involved engagement in program priorities, application receipt and award management, and promoting coordination across funding entities supporting spinal cord injury
research.

There is much more to Richard Bell than his spinal cord injury which he suffered as the result of a motor vehicle accident in 2002. Although this tragic event left him a quadriplegic, it also resulted in him being an accomplished artist. He won his first award at the Beverly Hills artSHOW in 2016. He was then awarded a full scholarship to the Vermont Studio Center in the summer of 2018. Richard’s work is on display in galleries and private residences internationally.

Dr. Murray Blackmore received his undergraduate degree from Stanford University, and his graduate degree in neuroscience from the University of Minnesota. During his postdoctoral training at the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, Dr. Blackmore studied axon regeneration and adopted High Content Screening methods to identify new gene targets to promote neural repair. Later, as a Research Assistant Professor at the Miami Project, Dr. Blackmore used a gene therapy approach to test these new gene targets for the ability to promote axon regeneration in the injured spinal cord. Dr. Blackmore is continuing this line of research at Marquette University, using viral delivery of genes to injured neurons in rodent models of spinal injury in order to foster repair.

Mohamad Bydon, M.D., is a neurosurgeon who is fellowship-trained in complex spinal surgery and spinal oncology. He specializes in minimally invasive spine surgery (MIS) for a variety of spinal conditions, including back pain and neck pain, spinal stenosis, spinal tumors, spinal deformity, and spinal fusion.

Stephana Carelli is a group leader at the Pediatric Research Center “Romeo ed Enrica Invernizzi” foundation, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, University of Milan, Italy. She served as aggregate professor of pharmacology at the faculty of medicine, University of Milan.

Perry Cross was injured in 1996 as a C2 ventilated quadriplegic. He has since dedicated his life to helping others, raising awareness of spinal injuries and creating a movement that has seen tens of thousands of people applaud, recognize and support the need for urgent research to cure paralysis.

Dr. Floyd’s research focuses on the use of porcine models of traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, and neuropathic pain to advance discoveries and translation in preclinical research. She is a certified Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) professional. Dr. Floyd serves as a Councilor and co-Chair of the Communication and Outreach Committee for National Neurotrauma Society.

Freaque is a musician and performance artist. His music was most recently used as the soundtrack for his production, A Cripple’s Dance, a live music and dance production created and performed by people with Spinal Cord Injuries and able bodies.

Eric Howk is an Alaskan born, Pacific Northwest based songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, touring musician and entrepreneur. He has been a T-4 level complete paraplegic since 2007, and since that time he has performed at thousands of shows in hundreds of cities internationally. He has more than 20 gold and platinum certified album sales from all over the globe, with over one billion verified radio spins. In 2017, at the 60th annual Grammy awards, he was nominated for the Portugal. The Man song Feel It Still, and won a Grammy for 'Best Pop Duo/Group Performance’. He has been featured on The Tonight Show, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Good Morning Britain, The Today Show, and The American Music Awards among others, while appearing on the soundtracks of over 50 major productions. He has no cats.

In December 2011, at age 16, Jack Jablonski was hit from behind during a high school hockey game. The resulting injury (C5) left him with complete paralysis below the shoulders. Inspired by Jack’s determination to “skate again,” volunteers established the Jack Jablonski Foundation in 2012. Jack graduated from the Annenberg School at USC in 2019. He lives in Los Angeles and works with the NHL’s LA Kings as a communications coordinator where he also hosts a podcast and works as a radio analyst.

Corinne Jeanmaire sustained a complete spinal cord injury (T10) as a consequence of a car accident in 2001. She subsequently created the endParalysis Foundation, which focuses on accelerating research towards curing chronic SCI through funding targeted research projects and through promoting an integrative, collaborative and goal-driven approach in SCI research. Corinne participates in various cross-functional taskforces aiming at accelerating research towards SCI recovery and works in close cooperation with various other organizations worldwide.

Nick Jeffery qualified as a veterinarian from University of Bristol (UK) and has a PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Cambridge (UK). Dr. Jeffery has worked on the investigation and treatment of spinal cord injury in dogs for more than 30 years. He has recently completed two clinical trials on novel therapies for spinal cord injury in which dogs were models for the condition in humans. His current research interest is on reliability and reproducibility of laboratory investigations and translation of interventions from laboratory to clinic.

Ben Leclair is a 27-year-old former professional wakeboarder from Quebec, Canada. He sustained a spinal cord injury in November 2016 in Florida and was diagnosed a c3 complete quadriplegic Asia A. Ben’s been working hard on his rehab ever since and has made significant improvements, giving him the chance to get back to video editing and slowly back to filming. He is currently a videographer and brand ambassador for Amysystems wheelchairs, the Wings for Life Foundation, and O’NEILL apparel company.

Dr. Martin speaks nationally on topics related to Activity-Based Rehabilitation; she has taught many continuing education courses for rehabilitation professionals in the areas of neurological pathology, rehabilitation, and research. She has been the principal investigator and co-investigator for grants from the Paralyzed Veterans of America Education Foundation and Department of Defense to develop, promote, and disseminate an activity-based restorative therapy training program and curriculum.

Dave Marver is CEO of GTX Medical, BV. He is an accomplished chief executive with a broad range of experience gained leading public, private, and emerging companies in the US and Europe. He has sector expertise in medical technology, wearables, consumer technology, and health monitoring. He is also an experienced Board member with multiple successful exits under his governance.

Dr. Maynard has over 29 years of pharmaceutical and biotechnology research and development experience spanning new drug discovery, preclinical, and clinical development. His efforts have advanced new therapeutics for the treatment of disorders of the central nervous system, respiratory diseases, metabolic diseases, and immunologic disorders and include development of small molecules and protein therapeutics.

Dr. Miller currently serves as the Program Manager for the Spinal Cord Injury Research Program, Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs, U.S. Army Medical
Research and Development Command.

Dr. Leslie Morse's research, as well as her clinical focus, is the care of individuals with SCI, with a long-term goal of developing mechanism-based therapies to prevent and treat secondary health complications after injury. To that end, she is studying the impact of exoskeleton-assisted ambulation on bone health, neuropathic pain, and quality of life after SCI (a clinical trial supported by the Department of Defense).

Jacqueline serves as the Consumer Reviewer Administrator (CRA) from General Dynamics for the Spinal Cord Injury Research Program, Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs, U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command. As a CRA, she coordinates consumer reviewer involvement. Consumer reviewers act as lay experts on their disease, injury, or condition, bringing their experience and perspectives to the evaluation of research grant proposals.

Jay Shepard currently serves as Chairman of The Christopher and Dana Reeeve Foundation and is on the board of directors of Esperion Therapeutics, Inc., Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Craig Hospital, a world-renowned center for specialty rehabilitation and research for people with spinal cord injury and brain injury. Mr. Shepard holds a B.S. in business administration from the University of Arizona.

Dr. Shoichet's research is focused on drug and cell delivery strategies in the central nervous system (brain, spinal cord, retina) and 3D hydrogel culture systems to model cancer. Dr. Shoichet co-founded four spin-off companies, is actively engaged in translational research and science outreach. She is the recipient of over 50 prestigious distinctions.

Jesse Sinz has been a graffiti writer for over 20 years. He was out one night doing a couple of buildings and fell off of a 50-foot roof and broke his neck; a 3/4 break. As he learned from doing grout work how to accept and change things, he applied that same principle to his art. 10 years later he is still doing the same thing - graffiti writing - with the same passion, but in a different way.

Dr. Stanicka has been studying signaling pathways that regulate the phenomenon of cell growth and death, and mechanisms of cancer, neuroprotection, and neuroregeneration. She led a genome-wide CRISPR screen in vivo to identify novel axon regeneration and neuroprotection mechanisms in central nervous system after injury in Dr. Zhigang He’s laboratory at Boston Children’s Hospital. Throughout her career, she has been interested in how specific genes/proteins lead to disease development and applying this knowledge to develop novel treatments for patients.

Candy Tefertiller is the Executive Director of Research and Evaluation at Craig Hospital. She has been involved in numerous lines of research and has focused much of her career on research and program development promoting recovery after neurologic injury or disease. Dr. Tefertiller is currently the Co-Project Director for the Rocky Mountain Regional Brain Injury System.

Reveca Torres was injured and paralyzed in a car accident at the age of 13. After completing degrees in Fashion Design and Theatre Arts, Reveca worked as a costume designer and simultaneously worked with various organizations doing disability advocacy and peer support. Reveca is co-director of ReelAbilities Film Festival Chicago and has curated touring photography and art exhibitions that showcase the work of people with disabilities and bring awareness to disability rights. She uses painting, illustration, photography, film, movement, and other media as a form of expression and a tool for advocacy and social justice.