Disaster themes are an apt metaphor here. I’m thinking of the Netflix show, Stranger Things. Like the Walking Dead, or the Matrix, Stranger Things is a story about a community in distress. And how that community acts to survive, care for each other, and protect each other in the midst of a reality that no one else understands: an Upside Down world that no one is even aware of. I don’t think it’s too much of a leap to say that spinal cord injury is our Stranger Things.

The topic of today’s conversation is the Vagus nerve. In Latin, Vagus means wandering or straying, which this conversation does a fair bit of due to the interesting subject matter. Our guide on this path is Dr. Patrick Ganzer of the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis. Dr. Ganzer explains how the vagus nerve can be stimulated to open a window of neuro-plasticity and improve functional outcomes in spinal cord injury. We also talk about his research in...

I was devastated to hear him voicing this fear that he cannot keep doing what he believes he is meant to do. Something that brings him joy and purpose. All because paralysis is relentless. I know my son is not the exception, but the rule. This injury robs us and our loved ones of their time, their dreams, and their potential contributions to society. It is unjust. Which is why we...

U2FP's Annual Symposium offers a wonderful opportunity to listen to one another, and then share your experience and thoughts on SCI research strategies. This exchange is key to aligning our goals and priorities. As we do every year, we hope to provoke some rich discussions around themes we believe are important to the community. We will host a breakout session Saturday afternoon on three main discussion points...

What follows is the final summary report from the Food & Drug Administration's (FDA) Listening Session which was organized by U2FP. The below report has been officially approved by the Patient Affairs Group at the FDA.

Opening Remarks: Description of Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) as a Multi-System Condition

SCI is a multi-system condition with a population of patients that exhibit a heterogeneous set of symptoms and secondary complications. It is not well served by traditional clinical trial designs with only one or two clearly defined...

There are only 4 days left to save nearly 30% off your registration to U2FP’s 18th Annual Science & Advocacy Symposium. Our Early Bird discount deadline is this Friday, September 8th. Use these savings to offset your travel expenses and secure your spot among an all-star roster of scientists, clinicians, companies and community advocates leading the way towards...

Today's guest is Dr. Kim Anderson-Erisman, a friend and a very influential researcher who we have a really great conversation with. We begin with the story of her spinal cord injury along with her early studies and research, and that leads into one of the things she’s best known for: her work on patient preference as a result of directly surveying the spinal cord injury community. Finally, we explore how this...

As summer begins to wind down, so does the opportunity to save big on U2FP’s Annual Symposium. Our Early Bird pricing - which saves you 30% off our regular registration fee - expires on Friday, September 8th. That means you have just under two weeks to reserve your spot at the lowest possible...

One of the primary goals at our Annual Symposium is to maximize the number of individuals in attendance with a spinal cord injury. There are few things more satisfying than seeing a room full of the leading SCI scientists engaging meaningfully with a room full of SCI individuals and their family members. To my knowledge, we are one of the only conferences that centers this sort of educational relationship building. But we know the significant barriers that folks with an injury face when they travel. We know it first hand because...

Today, our guest is Louise Phipps Senft. Louise is the mother to a son with an SCI, and founder of Blink of an Eye, a nonprofit organization that is committed to addressing that initial moment when everything changes after a spinal cord injury. A big theme of this conversation is trauma. And one of the things that arises in our dialogue with Louise is how this emotional trauma kind of goes under or undiagnosed – both with the injured person AND with the family and the extended community. Louise is an extraordinary person who will tell us a bit about the story of her family and how...

Do you know anyone who has participated in a trial using transcutaneous or epidural stimulation? At this year’s symposium, we have once again put together a panel of individuals who have had a spinal cord stimulator implanted. We think it's critical to hear directly and honestly from our community about their experiences. So, we will have a group of SCI folks who have either participated in trials and/or have been implanted clinically with these devices seeking to restore function. We will be...

What you are about to hear is one of the richest conversations we’ve ever had on the show. Our guests today are Gabriel Rodreick (Matthew’s son) and Julie Censullo (CureCast producer) who are here to discuss an audio-art project they created together called “Life Begins in the Stillness” - which we play at the top of the episode. We then dive into their relationship with spinal cord injury, with each other, with art and with the creative process. This conversation goes deep into the ripple effects of SCI beyond the injured individual; how it slams headlong into our families and friends; and how Gabe’s injury propelled...

Rumors of improved function while using psychedelics have circulated the last few years, notably with wilderness photographer Jim Harris, who was recently profiled in Outside magazine. We interviewed Jim in Episode 70 of our CureCast podcast - which was a fan favorite. But, as usual, we dug into the science first, talking with an SCI and Bioinformatics researcher at the University of Minnesota, Jessica Nielson (Episode 69). We’re bringing Dr. Nielson back - this time as a presenter at our Annual Symposium - to talk about her exploration into the current and potential use of psychedelics in the SCI population and whether or not they might be useful in combination with other therapies, like regenerative medicine and...

Memo to FDA from people living with spinal cord injuries: We respect your process for keeping a tight gate on safety and efficacy for new therapies and devices. Heed our voice: there is urgency. Please accelerate translation from research to clinic. And consider spinal cord injury not as a massive movement disorder or set of isolated conditions but as a whole-body disease state. Unite 2 Fight Paralysis has participated in two recent meetings with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The regulatory agency is being urged to...

What has changed in acute SCI care over the last 5 years? What progress are we making? Are newly injured folks getting the same message co-host Jason Stoffer got from his clinicians 5 years ago? We asked today’s guests - Shekar Kurpad & Candy Tefertiller - to give us some high level answers to those questions...

Right now is a great time to maximize your savings for U2FP’s 18th Annual Science & Advocacy Symposium, happening on October 20 - 21, 2023 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Don’t miss this one-of-a-kind gathering that centers the voice and perspective of the SCI Community. Worried about travel expenses? Consider applying for a Travel Grant, which we offer to individuals with paralysis in need of...

That walk down memory lane got me thinking about the critical importance of connection, relationships and conversations: key drivers behind our annual symposiums. U2FP works hard to be a connector across the SCI landscape, looking to bring our SCI folks into the center of the conversation. The SCI community’s input is critical to help make curative therapies smarter, more efficient and translatable (ie, where is this research going? and what does it mean for people who live with the injury?).

What if we could take all the neural trash that forms in the spinal cord after an injury, the stuff that hinders connectivity, and turn it into treasure? This is the idea behind cellular reprogramming. Today's podcast guest, Dr. Arshak Alexanian, is a biochemist and the Chief Scientific Officer at the Wisconsin biotech firm, Cell Reprogramming & Therapuetics, LLC. We met Dr. Alexanian not too long ago while advocating for our $3M SCI Research Grant bill in the Wisconsin legislature. Dr. Alexanian believes so strongly in the possibility of cellular reprogramming that he took the leap out of academia and into private business to help make it happen.

We needed boots on the ground. So I volunteered to step out from behind my usual role here as Content Manager, and put on an advocacy hat. I drafted my 11-year-old daughter, Ruby, to come with me for two days of legislative door knocking and strategy meetings. I figured it was a good opportunity to educate her on the democratic process, and utilize her sullen, pre-teen intimidation tactics for our advantage. She vowed

Today's guest on the podcast is Kim Eisner, the executive director of the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation. This year happens to be the Neilsen Foundation’s 20th anniversary. For those who are unfamiliar with the Foundation, its namesake Craig H. Neilsen, was an entrepreneur who sustained a spinal cord injury in 1985 and formed the foundation in 2002. This was an attempt to catalyze research and support for people living with a spinal cord injury. In the last 20 years, The Neilsen Foundation has contributed almost $360,000,000 to both research and nonprofit organizations serving people with spinal cord injuries. Given this milestone, we wanted to...

This week, U2FP’s superstar CAN advocate, Sam Troyer, was featured in a local news piece on Milwaukee’s ABC affiliate WISN 12. The story just became available online last night - take a minute and check it out. Then, amplify the impact of this story by contacting the chairs of the Joint Finance Committee, which is meeting today to decide the fate of our bill...

Have you ever wondered what it feels like to participate in an SCI clinical research trial? How do you find out about these trials? Does anyone make a recovery? What are some reasons that you might take the leap - or not? On today’s podcast, you’ll get some answers to these questions and many more. Our guests, Mandy Mackenzie and Laura Grabowski, have each participated in a number of clinical trials and we’ve put them in the hot seat to give you..

Our campaign to pass a $3M SCI Research Grant bill in the Wisconsin legislature is looking good. Several of our advocates were interviewed by Milwaukee local news outlet WISN 12 in Wisconsin last week (we’ll let you know when it airs). Additionally, we keep getting positive feedback from...

Registration for U2FP’s Annual Science & Advocacy Symposium is officially open! This year’s event will take place at the Minneapolis Hilton Hotel, on October 20-21, 2023. Secure your spot at this one-of-a-kind gathering of the...

This is just a quick note to remind you that registration for this year’s 18th Annual Science & Advocacy Symposium opens tomorrow, Friday, June 2nd! Don’t wait, register tomorrow and take advantage of the following incentives...

At least once a year Gregoire Courtine’s spinal cord stimulation lab in Switzerland publishes a research study; well-written, solidly scientific, beautiful multimedia presentations, they always seem to wind up in the top journal Nature. They’re always news desk catnip and the headlines are always the same: “paralyzed man walks.” This past week Courtine’s group published another paper in Nature, “Walking naturally after spinal cord injury using a brain–spine interface.” I urge you to...

At this year’s 18th Annual Science & Advocacy Symposium our unofficial theme is going to be ‘A Celebration of Advocacy’. I say ‘unofficial’ because I feel like we try to celebrate advocacy every year at our conference. This year, though, we want to be even more intentional about incorporating the advocacy experience - both its successes and

Today’s episode is a rebroadcast of our conversation with Grégoire Courtine from two years ago. Dr. Courtine has been pivotal in the successful application of epidural stimulation in humans with SCI, in both his research and device commercialization. In this episode, we talk about Dr. Courtine’s motivation to study spinal cord injury and epidural stimulation in particular. We discuss the translation of his early rodent model research into humans and the mechanism of the therapy, such as...

Last October, I wrapped up my third season of serving as consumer reviewer for the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP), Spinal Cord Injury Research Program (SCIRP), also referred to as “DoD” because the Department of Defense is tasked with managing the program. The work I do with SCIRP is one of the most impactful things I do as an SCI advocate. As a consumer reviewer, my job is to review research proposals and assess their...

This year, we’re excited about a friendly marathon competition between two people close to U2FP’s heart: Jake Anderson and Jordan Bolton. Jake has been wheeling for Team U2FP for years, with an amazing group of family and friends cheering him on and helping him train each year. Jordan is U2FP’s Social Media Strategist, athlete and fitness enthusiast.

Today our guest is Dan Hellenbrand, a renaissance man of sorts. Dan sustained a cervical injury (C5-6) as a carpenter back in 2003 and eventually ended up going back to school to become a SCI researcher, as well as an advocate for curative therapies. We have an interesting conversation about early physical therapy, the role of belief and competition with yourself and how that...

Science Writer Sam Maddox explains a recent paper from Samuel Stupp's lab at Northwestern University. In this work, Stupp combined his "dancing molecules" with a type of stem cell made by genetically reverse-programming a human skin cell to become a neuron- an induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC). 

The North American Spinal Cord Injury Consortium (NASCIC) has developed a free online course to increase knowledge of the research process. This is so that individuals with SCI and caregivers feel prepared to serve as research advocates and that SCI researchers and healthcare providers are better able to effectively partner with the SCI community.  

Today's conversation is a rebroadcast of our interview with Samuel Stupp back in 2022. We thought it was a good time to revisit this conversation, given Dr. Stupp’s most recent publication, which you can learn more about below in the summary review done by U2FP’s science writer, Sam Maddox. During the course of this conversation, we dig into Dr. Stupp’s unique approach as an...

A little over a month ago, we launched a monthly donor campaign in hopes of adding 35 new monthly donors. In that kickoff message, I tried to lay out our current vision and how we don’t want to stall on our current growth trajectory. Our longtime supporters know that we launched a similar campaign back in 2019. In the short video below, I chat with U2FP’s content manager, Ryan Romine, about why we

Today’s episode revisits important elements and loose ends of spinal cord stimulation (SCS) that didn’t fit neatly into the arc of our first three conversations on this topic. We’re calling this installment the ‘Junk Drawer’ - not because we consider these loose ends to be junk, but because they represent...

This Friday, March 31st is the deadline to sign up with Team U2FP for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. Don’t miss out on your opportunity to receive a guaranteed spot as a runner or wheeler in this world-class racing event. When you join Team U2FP, your fundraising efforts will support U2FP’s important work, especially our Cure Advocacy Network...

Our Wisconsin CAN advocates continue to rack up the wins! Early this week we got word that the Senate Health Committee voted in favor of our SCI Research Grant Bill (SB27) with a 5 to 1 vote of approval! Compounding this good news is the positive impact this process is having on...

Today we talk with Bill Murphy, a bioengineer out of the University of Wisconsin Madison. We recently met Dr. Murphy when he came to the Wisconsin Capitol in support of our $3M SCI Research Grant bill back in January. Bill’s team has been working on developing biomaterials to improve the body’s ability to receive and utilize Chondroitinase ABC (ChABC). ChABC is an enzyme that holds lots of promise for...

There is definite momentum behind our $3M SCI Research Grant bill in Wisconsin - thanks to so many of you! Just two weeks after having our bill heard in the Senate Health Committee, we now have another hearing in the Wisconsin Assembly this Thursday, Mar 16, 2023 at 10AM central time. I know these messages can seem repetitive and feel a tad spammy with their continued appeal for you to contact legislators. But I can’t stress enough how much they...

We’ve been busy building our agenda for this year’s 18th Annual Science & Advocacy Symposium. I wanted to give you a quick update and provide you with the latest details below, so you can start making plans for this one-of-a-kind gathering of the SCI and Scientific Communities. Check out our diverse list of confirmed speakers and panelists so far, representing a wide array of...

This is the third and final (for now) installment of our 101 tour of spinal stimulation. We're joined again by Sam Maddox, U2FP's Scientific Advisory Board Director and veteran science journalist. Today, we discuss the commercialization of spinal stim, detailing the path that these therapies will need to traverse to arrive at the market. We talk about how labs and businesses are organized and review some of the challenges they face, including...

Tomorrow morning, Dr. Murray Blackmore, Mike Mohr and Dan Hellenbrand will testify in support of our $3M SCI Research Grant Bill (SB27) before the Wisconsin Senate Committee on Health. Dr. Blackmore's mother suffered from a spinal cord injury, while both Mike and Dan both live with the injury. Dan Hellenbrand (pictured above, left) is also a research specialist at the University of Wisconsin Medical School. Dan joined us at the Capitol last month and was able to...

Good news - our $3M SCI Research Grant bill (SB27) has been given a hearing in the Wisconsin Senate Committee on Health this Wednesday, March 1st! Senate Committee members will hear testimony in support of our bill and vote on whether or not it moves forward. Please contact these 3 Senators today and ask them to...

That phrase in the subject line - ‘work smarter’ - isn’t our official vision, of course. And it doesn’t come from me. It’s actually an affectionate tag that one of our monthly donors, Chris Barr, uses to describe our work. (You might remember Chris for his 15 minutes of fame on Good Morning America a few years back). Chris and all of our donors - especially our monthly donors - are a big reason why U2FP is positioned so well these days. I wanted to take a moment and bring you up to speed on where U2FP has been, where we are now, and where we hope to go in the...

When you join Team U2FP, your fundraising efforts will support the work of our Cure Advocacy Network, helping advocates to pass legislative funding bills for SCI research in their home states. This is the real impact our racers have...

We’re continuing our conversation around spinal cord stimulation in part 2 of this multi-episode series with Sam Maddox, a long-time SCI science writer and U2FP’s Scientific Advisory Board Director. Today we’re going to focus on what’s happening currently with some spinal stimulation researchers, what clinical outcomes they are targeting, how they are connected to each other and how their approaches differ. Additionally, you’ll hear Matthew and Sam share the insight they gained from...

U2FP’s Wisconsin CAN advocates kicked off the new year with a blitz of meetings in the state capitol last month. The results are galvanizing: we now have 33 co-sponsors - 25 representatives (a quarter of the entire Assembly!) and 8 Senators - who have signed on in support of our $3M SCI Research Grant Bill. The bill has been officially introduced in both the Wisconsin Assembly and Senate. Finally, our bill has already been...

Jason and Matthew talk with U2FP Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) Director and Science Writer, Sam Maddox in the first part of our series on Spinal Stimulation. We’ve been thinking about the need for a discussion on what spinal stimulation is, why it's been studied so extensively, who are the influential scientists and players in the space, the trajectory of where and how it started as an exploration for restoring function in SCI, and - most importantly...

This past month, U2FP’s Executive Director Matthew Rodreick sat down with David Stevens, host of the Spinal Cast podcast, which is presented by the Morton Cure Paralysis Fund. In their conversation, you can hear Matthew discuss the origins behind his involvement with U2FP, starting with his son Gabriel’s spinal cord injury. They talk in depth about...

Preparations are in full swing for U2FP’s 18th Annual Science & Advocacy Symposium, happening October 20 - 21, 2023 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. We’ve already begun planning our agenda, and will have announcements about confirmed presenters and panelists over the next few months. Today, we’re excited to announce that our room block at our conference hotel, the Hilton Minneapolis, is open for reservations. Secure your spot at our conference hotel and secure our special group rate. Don’t wait...

Jason and Matthew interview Jim Harris, a wilderness photographer who was injured in 2014. Jim was recently featured in Outside Magazine regarding his experience with psilocybin and its connection to some restored mobility. This conversation is a follow-up to our previous podcast with Dr. Jessica Nielson on the potential use of psilocybin after SCI. However, in this episode, we specifically focus on one of our community member's direct experience with...

Our CAN advocates are making what they hope will be their final push to pass a $3M SCI Research Grant Bill in Wisconsin (they've been working for 4 years there). They were at the Capitol in Madison last week making connections with more lawmakers who are vowing to support an SCI research bill this legislative session. This work would not be possible without our Team U2FP racers, who raise funds as they train for their races.

We secured another legislator’s support for our $3M SCI Research Grant Bill yesterday! After meeting with Matthew Rodreick, Jason Stoffer, and WI CAN Advocate John Martinson, Representative Rob Summerfield (R - Bloomer) agreed to co-sponsor our Bill. Rep. Summerfield is the Majority Caucus Chair, as well as a member of the Committee on Health, where it is looking likely our Bill will be assigned after it is...

Yesterday we kicked off our first day of legislator meetings, advocating for our $3M SCI Research Grant bill here in Wisconsin. We ended the day with a meaningful evening of strategizing and communal sharing. Today we’re back at the Capitol in Madison, Wisconsin, meeting with legislators and pressing our case for lawmakers to pass our $3M SCI Research Grant Bill...

Matthew Rodreick drove into Madison yesterday afternoon. Jason Stoffer flew into the Wisconsin capitol from Montana last night. Jake Beckstrom has been fine-tuning our 3-day legislator blitz and meeting schedule for weeks. Die-hard Wisconsin CAN advocate John Martinson arrived at the capitol this morning. And Samantha Troyer - another warrior for functional recovery - will arrive at the people’s house this week as well. Many others from the SCI Community plan to...

Medical devices offer life changing benefits for thousands of patients. What happens when companies go broke and no longer supply parts, software or tech support? Customers are high and dry, left to MacGyver tech on their own, or hope the bones of their device maker gets new life in a merger or reboot. They may also be left to wonder if their dead device will require expensive, risky uprooting...

As I’ve said recently, I’m extremely proud of the community-minded leadership our board and staff consistently demonstrate. Because the majority of them are impacted directly by this injury, they feel the urgency of finding curative interventions on the deepest possible level. I’m happy with all we’ve been able to accomplish this year, but it’s not enough. There’s more work to do. And we can't do it without you...

Mark your calendars: U2FP's 18th Annual Science & Advocacy Symposium will take place on October 20 - 21, 2023, here in Minneapolis, Minnesota. And we're especially grateful to this year's title sponsor, The University of Minnesota Medical School's Department of Rehabilitation Medicine! We'll have more details coming...

We've just made available all the presentations from this year's 17th Annual Science & Advocacy Symposium in Salt Lake City, Utah. This means that even if you couldn’t attend this year’s gathering of the SCI and Scientific Communities, you can now view it all by going to the Video Library section of our website and/or our YouTube playlist. This year’s symposium was divided into multiple sessions, broken out over two days of presentations and interactive...

And it's a power that our partners and collaborators need from us. It might sometimes split or interrupt the celebrations of the day, not unlike all the Christmas days I spent in a busy ER. But like that, the interruption comes with an invaluable experience of spinal cord injury that must be shared for our good and for the good of our larger partner family.

In our most recent collaborative endeavor, though, we did find the money for a cool study, one we helped design. This is a perfect example of U2FP working off-stage, and seizing opportunity: We created a unique multidisciplinary research study combining a nerve growth drug and epidural stimulation in a large animal model targeting chronic spinal cord injury.

In 2017, I suffered a spinal cord injury and entered a new world. Connecting with Unite 2 Fight Paralysis has had a positive impact on my new life. U2FP’s work educating and creating awareness about all aspects of spinal cord injury, not just the loss of leg or hand movement, resonated with me. This injury is so nuanced from person to person, but is also vastly misunderstood and misrepresented in our culture.

The research of psychedelics as a therapeutic for anxiety, depression, and PTSD has gained a lot of traction over the last decade. Given their potent effects on the nervous system, what are the unique benefits and possible side effects of psychedelics for the SCI population? And further, what is their potential to elicit functional recovery? If you ask the community, it doesn’t take long to find anecdotal evidence that the benefits go beyond just the psychological realm. Read Jim Harris’ account in Outside Magazine, as an example. In this episode, Matthew and Jason speak with Jessica Nielson to explore the potential psychedelics may hold for the SCI community...

Since the midterm elections, we’re back in full swing in Wisconsin and have confirmed the support of even more legislators, with several of them volunteering to sign on as co-sponsors of our bill, which is slated to be introduced again in January. We also have a good chance of making it into the Governor’s budget in February. This means we have two separate, possible paths to success! U2FP’s Cure Advocacy Network does more than just send state dollars to SCI researchers. It puts the SCI community at the decision-making table, allowing those who are injured to serve on the advisory boards that prioritize what projects get funded. And as our network of state legislative funding grows....

There’s wind in the sails of neuromodulation. It’s not news that a few dozen people with spinal cord injuries have gotten stimulator implants, in clinical trials and more recently in a Minneapolis clinic. Nearly all of them report meaningful recovery. So here’s today’s stitch: pull any thread of this story, and it always comes back to U2FP. Try it. We are in this recovery of function business at a very deep level...

Team U2FP is building its roster for next year - and we're looking for runners and wheelers to join our ranks for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon 2023. Please consider joining us. Then share this opportunity on your social media channels, with your friends and family, along with those in your work and faith communities. Training for a marathon while helping to advance curative therapies for those with an SCI is a great way to kick off the New Year!

As 2022 draws to a close, many of our supporters are planning for their year-end charitable contributions. I wanted to make our SCI Community aware of some incentives that can help you maximize your gift. Take a look at these giving options as you consider supporting...

We know that the work isn’t done, though. Epidural stimulation is likely just one piece in a broader strategy of combinatorial therapies that will need to include biological and/or pharmacological interventions (e.g. stem cells, etc.). That’s why we work to facilitate a holistic ecosystem of SCI individuals, clinicians, scientists and investors who are collaborating in new ways with one another, leading to exciting possibilities, and better, faster outcomes. Here are just a few examples of this sort of work from the past year:

You are part of this community. You endure the unseen difficulties of living with this injury. Or you work long hours in a lab, or at a foundation or biotech startup, trying to understand and alleviate the suffering of those who live with an SCI. Many of you inhabit more than one of these roles. And every time we collaborate, we get closer to functional recovery. U2FP knows we can't do this alone. We need everyone's voice in equal measure. That's why we need you.

Kelsey Peterson's documentary, Move Me, airs nationwide tonight on PBS. Please tell your friends, family and co-workers about the film, and share it on your social media channels. This movie deserves to be seen by the largest possible audience. U2FP has been involved with this film from day one. We acted as...

This Thursday, November 3rd we'll be presenting a special screening of Kelsey Peterson’s documentary, Move Me. Join us at 7pm in the Tek Box Theatre at the Cowles Center for Dance & the Performing Arts, followed by a special Q&A with writer/director Kelsey Peterson after the film! Tickets are selling fast. We are nearing capacity for our venue, and only have a handful of seats left. If you wait until the day of the show, it may be too late - get your tickets now. There are so many great reasons to join us for this special...

We’re only a week away from our special screening of Kelsey Peterson’s documentary, Move Me! Spots are filling up. Don’t wait - get your tickets now. I remember when Kelsey first got the idea to do a documentary dealing with spinal cord injury. It was right after she helped me and other advocates pass the landmark SCI/TBI Research Grant Bill here in Minnesota in 2015. In 2017, I came on as U2FP’s Executive Director, and at my suggestion...

Matthew and Jason talk with Ann Van de Winckel, a researcher and physical therapist at the University of Minnesota Medical School, who is doing fascinating work to help restore body awareness below the level of injury - yes, you read that right - using cognitive multisensory rehabilitation (CMR). Dr. Van de Winckel’s work is showing...

U2FP is inviting you to a private screening of the film Move Me, in Minneapolis on Thursday, November 3, 2022 at 7pm. This special event will take place in the Cowles Center for Dance & the Performing Arts - Tek Box Theatre. In addition to seeing the film on the big screen, we'll have a live Q&A with writer/director Kelsey Peterson, along with...

U2FP is excited to announce a special screening of the film Move Me, Kelsey Peterson’s documentary about the emotional and physical challenges of her life after suffering a spinal cord injury. The film, which is still racking up selections and accolades on the film festival circuit, will be given a private showing by U2FP here in Minneapolis on Thursday, November 3, 2022 at 7pm in the Cowles Center for Dance & the Performing Arts. This special event will feature a live question and answer session with Kelsey after the film, along with...

This episode features Thomas Cloyd, who is competing in the Bank of America Chicago Marathon for Team U2FP next Sunday, October 9th. Thomas’ reasons for joining Team U2FP go well beyond just this race. His history with U2FP goes back almost a decade when he helped Matthew Rodreick and others in the SCI community pass the SCI/TBI Research Grant bill here in Minnesota in 2015. That bill was the catalyst for U2FP’s Cure Advocacy Network (CAN), which has now passed over $25M in SCI research funding via these legislative advocacy efforts. And since it’s hard to get grant money to lobby state legislatures, Team U2FP is one of our primary sources of funding for CAN...

There's still time for you to join us via our livestream. You'll be able to watch almost all the presentations and even participate live in the question and answer sessions. Plus, you'll get early access to our recordings once the conference has ended.

Don't miss out on this one-of-a-kind event where you can get up to speed on the latest curative research from world-class scientists, so that the impact of our collective voice can be that much stronger.

We're just days away from U2FP's 17th Annual Science & Advocacy Symposium, happening Friday, September 23 and Saturday, September 24, 2022. And there's still time to register, either to attend in-person or via our livestream! As always, we're convening the major stakeholder groups in curative ...

In her Saturday morning talk (made possible with ASIA funding), Lana Zholudeva, PhD describes a new ASIA program called Translational Research to Inform Practice (TRIP). This is intended to facilitate better dialog across SCI interest groups. Meanwhile, Dale Hull, MD, MPA, will present a talk about how SCI acute rehab has shrunk to absurd levels – while at the same time the value of rehab in the recovery process has been scientifically validated. In that gap is opportunity – for a clinical...

There are more trials for spinal cord injury related issues now than ever – fewer than 10 in 2012 to 112 in 2021 – and more are coming. But not a single one has led to a treatment. There are many reasons for this: Drugs or devices just didn’t work as they did in animal studies, sponsor companies ran out of money, etc. But it’s not just hard science and lack of resources: There are issues with the way trials are...

We are exactly two weeks away from U2FP’s 17th Annual Science & Advocacy Symposium, happening September 23 - 24, 2022 in Salt Lake City, Utah. While we are excited to be back in person, we know that not everyone is able to make a trip like this - especially many in the SCI Community. That’s why we are once again offering a…

In the latest episode of CureCast, Jason and I talk with Andrew Park, a clinician-researcher at Craig Rehabilitation Hospital in Denver, Colorado. Jason happened to meet Andrew while in Denver for one of U2FP’s Cure Advocacy Network stakeholder meetings last February. During that meeting, Andrew’s passion for his work became evident. In this podcast, we talk about…

Jack Jablonski, namesake of the Jack Jablonski Foundation, will be giving a few remarks ahead of the Spinal Stimulation session at our 17th Annual Science and Advocacy Symposium, September 23 and 24 in Salt Lake City, Utah (register here). The Foundation is sponsoring the session featuring Reggie Edgerton, Susie Harkema and

Jason and Matthew talk with Lucia Webb, U2FP’s Operations Director, about a seemingly minor aspect of our work - our racing and fundraising initiative, Team U2FP. We discuss what Team U2FP is and breakdown why it’s critical for so much of what we do, especially the legislative bills we’ve passed through our Cure Advocacy Network...

We’re just a month away from U2FP’s 17th Annual Science & Advocacy Symposium in Salt Lake City, Utah (September 23 and 24 - register here). As always, we look for creative ways to maximize the impact of our conference for the SCI Community. Given that the Mountain West is home to so many outdoor enthusiasts (including symposium speaker and U2FP board member, Quinn Brett), we’ve teamed up with several adaptive sports organizations to coordinate an...

Jason and Matthew interview Dr. Camillo Castillo, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Physician at Frazer Rehabilitation Hospital in Louisville, KY along with his Clinical SCI Navigation team: Emily Coons, Brendan Doksa and Heather Connor. We are raising a simple question about the introduction of spinal cord stimulation (SCS) to the clinic: are we ready to receive it? What will that look like? Who follows the person with the stimulator? Who sets the parameters for...

Today is the last day to get the best bang for your buck on U2FP's Annual Symposium. Save nearly 30% off our regular prices when you register today ..

We’re excited to announce that our Title Sponsor - The Craig H. Neilsen Rehabilitation Hospital/University of Utah Health - is offering a special tour of its brand-new facility for attendees of U2FP’s Annual Symposium! This tour will take place...

We extended our Early Bird discounts for an extra week, but time is running out. Be sure to register by this Friday, August 19th to save nearly 30% then use these savings to offset your...

That's right, we've extended our Early Bird discounts until next Friday, August 19th! With the cost of travel up significantly (along with everything else), we wanted to give everyone an extra week to save nearly 30% off registration fees for our 17th Annual Science & Advocacy Symposium...

Unite 2 Fight Paralysis is proud to have Quinn Brett presenting at our 17th Annual Science and Advocacy Symposium, September 23 and 24 in Salt Lake City, Utah (register here). Quinn is an advocate for recreational accessibility and curative interventions, as well as a member of U2FP's Board of Directors. Last year, Quinn hand-cycled the US portion of the Tour Divide in 25 days. This is the world's longest off-pavement cycling route, extending from the Canadian Rockies to New Mexico. It's seriously gnarly...

U2FP has been working with a researcher who is interested in conducting a human research study to restore orgasm in men with chronic SCI. In order to design the study, the researcher has asked us to disseminate the attached survey to determine...

Unite 2 Fight Paralysis is pleased to present a special screening of 'Move Me', the long-anticipated documentary film from Kelsey Peterson, at our 17th Annual Science and Advocacy Symposium, September 23 and 24 in Salt Lake City, UT (register here). The feature length film tells Kelsey’s story: Poor judgment, high-level spinal cord injury, loss and heartbreak, and now, 10 years later, an attempt to balance hope for recovery with acceptance that life with disability has intrinsic value and meaning. U2FP has been involved in this film from the beginning. The idea emerged from...

Unite to Fight Paralysis is very grateful to Aneuvo for supporting our 17th Annual Science and Advocacy Symposium, September 23 and 24 in Salt Lake City, Utah. This is a Los Angeles based company that is developing a neurostimulation device for treating spinal cord injury. Aneuvo will begin a large, multicenter trial for its transcutaneous system within weeks. But wait, Aneuvo is just one of many stim players you'll hear from at our Symposium this year. There are now four companies working on transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation, all of which emerged from the Los Angeles neuromod culture at UCLA and Caltech and ...

Want to try something new, without the pressure of a formal race, but with the structure and encouragement of teammates? Check out Team U2FP’s Freestyle Challenge, a DIY race event that you can tailor to be as creative or challenging as you like! In the Freestyle Challenge, participants can design their own event, be it running or wheeling a 5k around your favorite lake, paddleboarding in the pacific, long-distance adaptive trailriding, mountain climbing, or trying out all the

How do scientists model a spinal cord injury in animals? And what does that mean for translating those discoveries into humans? This has been a conversation we’ve prioritized at past symposia, and we’re addressing it again this year. One of the focal points that will be discussed are animal characteristics - their age, gender and ...

Today is the last day to apply for a Travel Grant to U2FP's Annual Symposium. Don't miss your chance to get part or all of their travel expenses covered to attend our one-of-a-kind conference. U2FP is proud to provide Travel Grants to individuals with paralysis in need of financial assistance. Special thanks to the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation and Global Technologies for helping to underwrite this program!

Just a reminder that this Wednesday, July 13, is the application deadline for Travel Grants to our 17th Annual Science & Advocacy Symposium. U2FP is proud to provide Travel Grants to individuals with paralysis in need of financial assistance. Special thanks to the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation and Global Technologies for...

Next Wednesday, July 13, is the application deadline for Travel Grants to our 17th Annual Science & Advocacy Symposium. U2FP is proud to provide Travel Grants to individuals with paralysis in need of financial assistance.
Special thanks to the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation and Global Technologies for helping to ...

We are all rolling and walking around in the bubbles of our own individual experiences. What can we set in motion if we speak up and stir up the conversation towards cures for SCI...

Unite to Fight Paralysis is very grateful to Blackrock Neurotech for supporting our 17th Annual Science and Advocacy Symposium, September 23 and 24 in Salt Lake City, UT (register here). Blackrock will also be presenting during the Industry portion of our agenda. Here’s some background on the company, and on its co-founder and chairman, Florian Solzbacher...

Team U2FP has launched its Freestyle Challenge, a race event you can customize to be as creative or challenging as you like! Today, I want to highlight a couple of our Freestyle Challenge racers. Lorraine Schaeffer and Sarah Ashbaugh have fully embraced the adventure aspect of the Freestyle Challenge, taking this unique race event to a new elevation: Mount Blanc in France/Switzerland! Read on to learn about this mother/daughter team and why they’ve decided to...

Unite to Fight Paralysis is very grateful to the University of Utah and its Craig H. Neilsen Rehabilitation Hospital for sponsoring our 2022 Annual Science and Advocacy Symposium. Here’s some background on the brand-new hospital, and on its namesake. The 75-bed hospital, made possible thanks to a $47.5 million donation from the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation, opened in September 2020. To recognize the new center, U2FP had chosen Salt Lake City as the host site for our 2020 symposium, but of course no live events occurred that year, or the next...

Experience the beauty of Salt Lake City from the heart of downtown at U2FP’s 17th Annual Science & Advocacy Symposium this fall - September 23-24, 2022! With quick access to the Rocky Mountains and a plethora of adaptive outdoor activities available, you may even want to extend your stay by a few days. Either way, be sure to reserve your hotel room now, as reservations are going fast...

Want to try something new, without the pressure of a formal race, but with the structure and encouragement of teammates? Check out Team U2FP’s Freestyle Challenge, a DIY race event that will take place over the weekend of August 20-21. In the Freestyle Challenge, participants can design their own event, be it running, wheeling, kayaking, weightlifting, or trying out all the taco trucks in town...

We are committed to ensuring that as many individuals from the SCI Community as possible have the opportunity to attend this important gathering. Get ready to join us for this unique, stimulating and collaborative event happening in beautiful Salt Lake City, Utah, this fall - September 23-24, 2022...

There’s lots of action happening on Team U2FP right now - don’t miss your chance to be a part of this unique and creative movement for cures. By signing up to race in one of several fun and creative Team U2FP events, you can raise funding and support for the work U2FP does to advocate for...

Jason and Matthew interview Dr. Uzma Samadani, a neurosurgeon working in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Dr. Samadani participated in the EStand trial along with David Darrow, Ann Parr and Taye Nettoff. We decided to interview Dr. Samadani based on her experience of implanting epidural stimulators in people with SCI - as part of her clinical practice - instead of the current approach, which is to limit access to only those enrolled in a relevant clinical trial. We talk about her...

This is just a quick note to remind you that registration for this year’s 17th Annual Science & Advocacy Symposium is set to open this Friday, June 3rd! You'll save 30% with our Early Bird pricing, and folks in the SCI Community, as well as students, can take an extra 50% off. You'll want to join us for this uniquely collaborative event happening in beautiful Salt Lake City, Utah, on September 23-24, 2022. We’ll also be opening our travel grant applications to individuals from...

Registration for this year’s 17th Annual Science & Advocacy Symposium opens next Friday, June 3rd! While inflation is affecting everyone - including our hotel costs for hosting this year’s event - our prices will remain the same as previous in-person Symposiums. We are committed to ensuring that as many individuals from the SCI Community as possible have the opportunity to attend this important gathering. Get ready to ...

We continue to have spots available for the Medtronic Twin Cities in Motion Marathon & 10-mile races. By joining Team U2FP, you’ll receive guaranteed entry, as well as your application fee reimbursed! Not a distance runner or wheeler? Consider tapping someone in your social network. We all know at least one person who is an active marathon racer; has that 26.2 sticker on their bumper; and fills up your social media feed once a year with images of glorious, finish-line exhaustion.

In this episode, Quinn and Jason talk about their experiences with SCI, meeting at Craig hospital, and their realization that the word “cure” is not embraced by everyone in our community. We are dedicating this podcast episode to Franklin Elieh, co-founder of NorCalSCI. Franklin died suddenly this past month after living for decades with an SCI. He embodied the critical characteristics of empathy, systems thinking and deep connection to the community that all successful advocates share. He also lived his life on the continuum of Care and Cure. His death is a reminder of ...

Registration is now open for Team U2FP's very own race event - the Freestyle Challenge! This is your chance to get super competitive and/or super creative, all while raising funds and awareness for SCI recovery. Back in 2020, when the pandemic hit and regular marathons were canceled, we created a DIY race event, which we called the Run-Walk-Roll. Since then, participants have gone beyond running, walking or rolling; they’ve done things like paddleboarding, lake strolling, 5k-ing and 100-mile trail riding on an adaptive trike! So we had to re-brand. The Freestyle Challenge is your chance to ...

Registration for the Medtronic Twin Cities in Motion Marathon & 10-mile races is currently open, and we are looking for more runners and wheelers to join Team U2FP for this exciting event! Sign up to run in either the Marathon or 10-Mile race and help U2FP advance curative interventions for the SCI Community. You’ll be guaranteed a spot, regardless of

Making this film, weaving hope and acceptance together, gave me more freedom to explore who I am as I continue to adapt and grow. My desire for functional recovery is for me, not for anyone else. Regaining sexual function could add to my quality of life. Hand function could give me more independence. I miss these things that I have lost, and even as my acceptance and self-love deepen, I still feel that loss, and that’s ok.

Mark your calendars to join us for a unique, stimulating and collaborative gathering focused on curative interventions: September 23-24, 2022, in Salt Lake City, Utah. We've got a growing line-up of great speakers from all spheres of the Scientific and SCI Communities. Here are our newly confirmed speakers ...

Help U2FP advance curative interventions for the SCI Community by competing in The Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon or 10-mile races! This year’s events are scheduled for Sunday, October 2, 2022, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. When you sign up for either the Twin Cities Marathon or the 10-Mile race, you’ll be guaranteed a spot, regardless of your ...

Registration is now open for another Team U2FP race event - the Medtronic Twin Cities in Motion Marathon & 10-mile races! Help U2FP advance curative interventions for the SCI Community by competing in either the marathon or 10-mile races! This year’s events are scheduled for Sunday, October 2, 2022, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Below are a few reminders, as well as some more detailed information on getting around at the capitol in Madison. As we mentioned yesterday, our SCI Research Grant bill (AB873) is scheduled for a hearing this coming Wednesday, April 6! This is our opportunity to raise our voice as an SCI Community and help legislators understand the impact this funding for curative therapies could make in our lives.

Great news - our SCI Research Grant bill (AB873) is scheduled for a hearing this coming Wednesday, April 6! This is our opportunity to raise our voice as an SCI Community and help legislators understand the impact this funding for curative therapies could make in our lives. Here are the three most impactful things you can do ...

This year's confirmed speakers include Spinal Stimulation researchers like Reggie Edgerton, Susan Harkema and David Darrow; Collaborative Projects from Jerry Silver, Monica Perez, and Candace Floyd; and out-of-the-box engineers like Samuel Stupp and Florian Solzbacher; along with Utah's premier SCI advocate Dale Hull, co-founder and Executive Director of Neuroworx.

Jason and Matthew talk with Samantha Troyer, an SCI peer mentor in Wisconsin who joined up with U2FP’s Cure Advocacy Network (CAN) to become a legislative advocate there. Sam is joined by our CAN Manager, Jake Beckstrom. We talk about the current effort to pass an SCI research funding Bill in Wisconsin, its attendant ups and downs, unique challenges, the perseverance required for this work, and the power of our shared SCI story.

Good news - Representative David Murphy has agreed to give our $3M Wisconsin SCI bill (AB 873) a hearing! We are working with his office to confirm an exact date and time for this to take place next week in the Colleges and Universities Committee. Getting our bill heard in the Wisconsin Assembly will put it on the record, moving it one step closer to being passed! Please contact Rep. Murphy’s office and say “Thank You!” This is your chance to ...

The Wisconsin legislature’s regular session ended yesterday, March 10th. And while our $3M SCI Research Grant bill didn’t get voted on, it turns out we still have a shot! This week, I received word from one of our cosponsors that there is still time for our bill’s assigned committees (Health in the Senate; Colleges/Universities in the Assembly) to schedule a hearing. This special, post-session period allows bills that were already in-progress when the session ended to move forward if ...

The more followers we have, the more impact we can have for curative therapies. For example, right now we have a bill in the Wisconsin legislature we’ve been working towards for almost 5 years. More social media eyes on our posts means more calls and emails to legislators from the SCI and Scientific Communities that will lead to curative treatments.

The Wisconsin Cure Advocacy Network has come so far this session in our attempts to pass legislation for SCI research funding. And we are so close to reaching that goal! This week is our last chance to get our bill heard in the Senate before the session ends on Thursday, March 10th. Senator Patrick Testin is the legislator with the power to give our bill a hearing so that it can then be brought to a vote. Please ...

Jason and Matthew speak with Samuel Stupp, a Professor of Materials Science, Chemistry, Medicine, and Biomedical Engineering at Northwestern University. You may remember reading about Dr. Stupp late last year. News about his ‘dancing molecules’ used in a preclinical model of acute spinal cord injury circulated widely. We discuss ...

The latest episode of U2FP’s CureCast podcast is out today, March 4. It’s not to be missed. Matthew and Jason interview Samuel Stupp, the Northwestern University scientist whose study of a nanotech polymer lit up the news media a couple of months back – one injection of a seeded, liquid plastic scaffold restored function in paralyzed mice after just four weeks. This was indeed a huge story in the SCI world. Although Stupp has been working on these sorts of polymers for 30 years and nanomedicine is not a novel idea, this research ...

Despite a busy start to 2022 (our intense Wisconsin SCI advocacy work, some fresh podcasts and our new effort to place SCI folks in research labs) we are still working hard on this year’s 17th Annual Science & Advocacy Symposium! Mark your calendars for September 23-24, 2022 and join us in ...

Walking on demand, by say pushing an indicator or a smart watch, breaks from what the rest of the SCI neuromod field has been focusing on. Most experiments are looking in less media-sexy areas -- blood pressure management, bladder or bowel control, pain control or maybe trunk stability. Onward, a publicly traded company that always likes to deliver good news to investors, says they’re hoping spinal cord stimulation works for many issues common to people living with SCI. But this study, it’s about walking. Readers can watch this video that shows one of the guys in the Swiss study, Michel Roccati, using his stim system to stand in a bar; he is quite emphatic in his endorsement for

U2FP’s Cure Advocacy Network (CAN) is at the closest point it has EVER been to passing legislation for spinal cord injury research funding in Wisconsin. We have made it this far because of our CAN team’s strategy and persistence coupled with YOUR phone calls and emails! Now, we need each of these bills (AB873 & SB1010) to be given a public hearing (ie, where members of the public can share how this legislation would impact ...

Jason and Matthew talk with Michael Lane (Researcher at Drexel College of Medicine) and Jake Chalfin (SCI advocate and chair of the PA Spinal Cord Advisory Research Council) as we continue with part 2 of our series on the experience of SCI community members joining research labs as consultants ...

Last night we received confirmation that our $3M SCI Research Grant Bill was officially introduced in the Wisconsin Senate (full text of Senate Bill 1010 here; Assembly Bill 873 here)! Not only that, but Senator Chris Kapenga has referred it to the Committee on Health as well. Your calls and emails are moving this Bill closer to possible passage in Wisconsin. A little less than a month ago, I said that getting our bill introduced this session, in both the house and senate, was a long-shot. But the hard work ...

Despite many of you emailing and calling on behalf of our Wisconsin SCI Research Grant bill, Senator Chris Kapenga (R - Delafield) has yet to indicate he will introduce our bill in the Senate. And this legislation can't move forward until that happens. Everyone from everywhere (in other states and countries) should contact Senator Chris Kapenga. All calls and emails his office receives help to demonstrate that this is a critical issue ...

Jason and Matthew interview Dr. Murray Blackmore (Marquette University) and Nancy Nichols (person with lived experience of SCI) about Nancy’s addition to the Blackmore Lab as a consultant. We talk about the relationship that developed, the impact it's had on the Blackmore Lab, and the impact relationships like this could have on ...

As I wrote last week, our Wisconsin SCI Research Grant bill got a shot in the arm when Senator Van Wanggaard (R - Racine) signed on as an enthusiastic co-author. As a senator, and a person with an SCI, Wanggaard’s endorsement could represent a big step forward for our bill. I say “could” because Senator Wanggaard himself can’t introduce our bill. Only the Senate President, Chris Kapenga (R - Delafield), can do that. We need Senator Kapenga to introduce our bill and ...

On Tuesday, our CAN Advocates met with Senator Van Wanggaard (R - Racine) who agreed to co-author our bill. It turns out that Sen. Wanggaard has a cervical spinal cord injury (no paralysis, but lasting impairments) resulting from a car accident he was in as a police officer, previous to his time as a legislator. Sen. Wanggaard provided some of the most encouraging words yet about our bill ...

Since our SCI Research Grant Bill (Assembly Bill 873) was finally introduced last week in Wisconsin, things have been moving fast. We’re seeing more enthusiasm and signs of progress thanks to your calls and emails to key legislators. Yesterday, we received confirmation of two more co-authors who have joined our bill - Representatives David Murphy & John Spiros. Rep. David Murphy’s support is very encouraging, as he is ...

NervGen announced in a press release recently that it intends to test its spinal cord nerve regeneration drug NVG-291 in humans later this year, treating both sub-acute (less than three months post) and chronic (at least a year) spinal cord injuries. The clinical trial will be held at a single site, the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago. The release is of course full of investor-targeted enthusiasm (“unprecedented … groundbreaking … restoring life’s potential”); it also includes this caution: “Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements made in this news release.” OK, we won’t. But still, this is news, it’s promising, and ...

In our latest episode, Jason and Matthew talk with Andrew Grande (MD, FAHA, FAANS) and Walter Low (PhD) - two brain specialists at the University of Minnesota who focus on neuroregenerative and neurorestorative therapies for various brain disorders, including traumatic brain injury. Why are we talking to brain specialists about TBI? Because in our efforts to pass an SCI funding bill in Texas, we came across a broad coalition of brain specialists ...

Drip, drip, drip… do you hear that, folks? That sound is the Republican iceberg of opposition that is finally beginning to melt, thanks to the perseverance of our Wisconsin CAN advocates. This past Tuesday, our $3M bi-partisan SCI Research Grant bill was officially introduced in Wisconsin: Assembly Bill 873! For the last 4 years, we’ve been unable to get Wisconsin Republicans on board with our SCI Research funding bill. But our hard work has paid off ...

I know we’re not all marathon runners or wheelers. Likely only a small percentage of you reading this message have run even one marathon. (Full disclosure, I have not run a marathon). But, we all know at least one person (usually more) who is an active marathon racer; who has that 26.2 sticker on their bumper; who fills up your social media feed once a year with those images of glorious, finish-line exhaustion. What I’d like you to consider today is ...

We’re filling our roster of Team U2FP participants for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon (October 9, 2022), and we’d love to have you join us! Sign up for Team U2FP and get a guaranteed entry to one of the premier marathons in the country ...

U2FP prides itself on being clear-eyed about the barriers (both scientific and emotional) that we face as we do the difficult work of advocating for cures. We know building a collaborative movement is hard, messy and painful. But we also believe the SCI Community knows a thing or two about how to leverage pain into power. It's worth noting that our entire staff has invested not just their time, but also their funds into our movement ...

Scientist Aileen Anderson (pictured above), who directs the Sue & Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center at the University of California Irvine (UCI), was recently awarded $5.5 million from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) to develop a new human neural stem cell line for large scale manufacturing. Her project is worth noting because the ultimate target is to put solid science behind a safe and predictable therapeutic for chronic cervical spinal cord injury. But what really makes this newsworthy is that it reframes Anderson’s pioneering work in stem cells and revisits the central role her studies played in one of the greatest ever spinal cord injury ...

In the latest issue of Current Opinion in Neurology, NASCIC president and long-time friend of U2FP, Kim D. Anderson, writes about the continual need for increased engagement between the SCI and Scientific Communities. The article, "Equitable partnerships between scientists and persons living with spinal cord injury will strengthen research scope, quality, and outcomes", acknowledges the work U2FP has been doing to move things forward in this particular area: "Additionally, Unite 2 Fight Paralysis ...

As 2021 draws to a close, many of our supporters are making arrangements for their year-end charitable contributions. I wanted to make our SCI Community aware of some incentives that can help you maximize your gift. Take a look at these giving options as you consider supporting U2FP's important work ...

U2FP’s Board believes strongly in the work our team is doing in the cure space. We have planned for and overseen a period of growth that we continue to be excited about. Our desire is to see U2FP broaden and deepen its innovative work to have a greater impact for individuals, like myself and many of my board colleagues, who live with an SCI. Which is why our Board has collectively given $32,000 this month ...

We are connected by our shared experiences of pain in response to this injury and as a result of this injury. There is a transformative power available in that connection. Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not suggesting the pain is itself the power. I am suggesting that there is power in the connection from sharing an experience like SCI ...

Happy Holidays from U2FP

We've just made public all three days of this year's 16th Annual Science & Advocacy Symposium! This means that even if you couldn’t attend this year’s gathering of the SCI and Scientific Communities, you can now view it all in the ...

A big skin-surface spinal cord stimulation study called Up-LIFT, targeting hand and arm function in people with cervical spinal cord injuries, has reached full enrollment of 65 participants. The company Onward, a major sponsor of the annual U2FP Science and Advocacy Symposium, said ...

We’ve already filled almost a 1/3rd of our roster of Team U2FP participants for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon 2022! Don’t wait - sign up for Team U2FP and get a guaranteed ...

My default is to roll my eyes when a set of relatives and friends all start sending me the same news blurb for another spinal cord injury study. From reading the press release, you can never tell if this new finding is worth getting excited about. It’s rare that a piece of research lives up to the hype that a university press machine is drumming up. But I must admit, the work published by the Samuel Stupp lab (Alvarez et al., 2021) in Science this November, does appear promising.

Jason and Matthew interview Dr. Barry Komisaruk, Neurophysiologist from the Psychology Department at Rutgers University. Barry has been researching sexuality for over 50 years and ...

Team U2FP is building its roster for next year - and we're looking for runners and wheelers to join our ranks for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon 2022.

I’ve been slowly but steadily relearning to see my body without the harmful narrative, without shame or judgement, and without confining ties to the able-bodied sex I’d been having. I’m discovering what feels good in this body, finding new pathways to pleasure, without feeling like it should be something else, like I should be someone else.

I’ve had the Bob Dylan song, “Love Minus Zero/No Limit,” running through my mind again lately. Music heads and old heads will know it. The last two lines of the second verse always stick with me: ‘...there’s no success like failure / And failure’s no success at all.’ Personally, I’ve always tried to apply these lines to my life. They remind me not to be afraid to fail and to always keep myself open to what can be learned from every action. Professionally, I’m reminded of them every day as we at U2FP continue to ....

On this #GivingTuesday, I hope you'll consider making a year-end donation or becoming a monthly donor to U2FP today. Take a look at some of the things our grassroots movement has accomplished in the last few years, thanks to your support:

Unless you've been unplugged from the internet the last few weeks, you probably know that tomorrow is #GivingTuesday - a global day of giving. Like you, I've received an onslaught of reminder emails and social media ...

We at U2FP want to wish our friends in the U.S. - and everyone else who celebrates - a Happy Thanksgiving! We are thankful for your support and for all those working alongside us to ...

In the wake of our Symposium, with all of its detailed strategies for scientific and advocacy advances, we wanted to re-center the personal experience of those who live with the injury. I am one of those people. I shared this reflection on my injured anniversary with my friends and family this past August. I hope it resonates with those who are injured, and motivates all those working for a cure.

We have a good chance of getting our Wisconsin SCI Research Bill passed, IF - and only if - we can persuade a Republican Senator to coauthor our Bill. Right now, Senators John Jagler and Devin LeMahieu are our most promising options. And that’s where you come in: we need you to ...

Today is the last day to register for U2FP’s 16th Annual Science & Advocacy Symposium. Online Registration closes tonight, October 19th ...

Tomorrow is the last day to register for U2FP’s 16th Annual Science & Advocacy Symposium. Online Registration closes on Tuesday evening, October 19th. Get your tickets now

U2FP’s 16th Annual Science & Advocacy Symposium is just a week away, starting Thursday, October 21 - Saturday, October 23, 2021. This is a premier gathering of the SCI and Scientific Communities. And it’s not just a science show and tell, but a collaborative meeting. We bring all the players together to sharpen and accelerate the speed and efficacy of the movement for cures. Online Registration closes on Tuesday, October 19th, so ...

Only 2 weeks left until our 16th Annual Science & Advocacy Symposium (Virtual) begins - register now to reserve your spot! Get up to speed on: SCI regeneration advances from leading scientists; research takes on sexual function recovery; rehab, exercise and nutrition for the ...

It's been a long, hard slog through the Wisconsin legislature since we started our advocacy there back in 2018. The wheels turn slowly, but sometimes patience and persistence are rewarded. Please help us keep our foot in the door, so we can swing it wide open and pass this much need Bill.

Hurry, tomorrow is the last day to take advantage of early bird discounts on our 16th Annual Science & Advocacy Symposium (Virtual), which is happening October 21 - 23, 2021. Don’t miss out: our Early Bird registration period ends this Friday, September 24th. This is your chance to save 30% off our ...

Don’t miss out: our Early Bird registration period ends this Friday, September 24th. This is your chance to save 30% off our regular priced registration fees. Plus, we have additional discounts for SCI Individuals/Families, Students & PCAs who can save another 75%! Then, go check out our feature this month in New Mobility magazine ...

Previously, we’ve defined three very broad research approaches that Symposium presenters will address to promote recovery in chronic spinal cord injury: Replacement (add cells); Rejuvenation (activate dormant nerve networks); and Regeneration (regrow spinal cord nerve axons). Now we are going to take a dive into a more specific area of SCI research: the neurobiology of sexual function. Not baby making. Pleasure.

As we announced this past weekend, we just made the difficult decision to transition our 16th Annual Science & Advocacy Symposium to a fully virtual event. Today, we’re happy to announce that registration for this newly-virtual event is now open!

I’m writing to share with you the difficult decision we at U2FP have made to transition our Annual Symposium from an in-person meeting to a fully virtual conference this fall. We had been hopeful that we would see the Covid Delta variant begin to recede by summer’s end. Instead, we continue to see an increase in the number of new infections. Many in our SCI Community are immunocompromised and/or have respiratory issues that ...

I am Jordan Bolton from Apple Valley, Minnesota - and I’m U2FP’s new Social Media Strategist! Three years ago, I was paralyzed from the neck down while a student at Lake Region State College in North Dakota. I suffered a C-4 and C-5 Spinal cord injury one night during a party with my basketball teammates and was given only a 5% chance of any recovery.

Join Team U2FP's very own race event - the Run-Walk-Roll! This event, which takes place Friday, September 24 through Sunday, September 26, allows you to create your own course and complete it at your own pace. But you can do more than just run, walk or roll. We want you to feel free to entertain endless opportunities. Consider possibilities such as a pub crawl or a lawn mower ‘race’ or ....

Last March, I finally made it to Maui after years of feeling called to her. I had planned to move there in the winter of 2012-13, but then I got injured. So it felt like a full-circle moment for me when we landed. However, I found myself struggling on what quickly became “the island of the able-bodied” through my eyes ...

We’ve defined three very broad research approaches to promote recovery in chronic spinal cord injury: previously, we covered Replace (add cells) and Rejuvenate (activate dormant nerve networks). Let’s now consider Regeneration — the functional regrowth of spinal cord nerve fibers (axons). Regeneration will almost certainly be in the form of combination therapies along the stages of axon growth. The theme of regeneration — and collaboration — is woven through the Symposium agenda. Here are a few examples of how regeneration works ...

At the beginning of this year, we were quite shocked when the proposed budget appeared without this important program listed. We reached out to those of you in our SCI, research and clinical communities, and you all responded...

This is the second in a series of articles with background and context for the 2021 Unite 2 Fight Paralysis Annual Science and Advocacy Symposium. This two-day event tells you what you need to know about the science to repair the injured spinal cord. Today, we'll look at rejuvenation, which you might think of as the rousing of nerve cells that are still alive and home where they should be, but maybe asleep, and not functioning in harmony with spinal cord nerve circuitry. In the simplest terms, how might these cells be brought back online?

Jason and Matthew talk with Megan Detloff (SCI researcher at Drexel College of Medicine) and Bethany Kondiles (SCI researcher at ICORD). They talk about the evolution of the International Online SCI Research Seminar (IOSCIRS) in response to the pandemic and as a forum for SCI researchers to stay abreast of one another's work. But they have also begun to discuss the value of the seminar for the lay audience of people living with SCI. We talk through this development and both the challenges and opportunities to use this platform as a way to connect researchers and people living with SCI.

This is the first of three articles with background and context for the 2021 Symposium, a look at who’s presenting what, and why. Some nerve cells in the damage zone die right away, and they’re gone. Nearby, others are in peril, and many succumb hours and days later as the injury site becomes toxic to cells. What if we were to REPLACE lost cells or rebuild the mangled cord structure to encourage recovery? In this article, we will explore the REPLACE part of the 2021 Symposium agenda. In subsequent posts, we will look at the other Rs, regeneration and rejuvenation.

Registration is now open for Team U2FP's very own race event - the Run-Walk-Roll! Help U2FP advance curative interventions for the SCI Community by competing in this flexible race that you can make as competitive or creative as you like! This is your chance to create the race you’ve always wanted to participate in. Consider options such as ...

Jason and Matthew continue the conversation from episode 52 with SCI community members, Quinn Brett, Kelsey Peterson and Thomas Cloyd. They discuss each guest’s experience with sex after injury, where they got their information and what they’ve learned and continue to learn. This conversation starts to set the stage for ...

Registration for U2FP’s Annual Science & Advocacy Symposium is officially open! Secure your spot at this one-of-a-kind symposium and save 30% when you register now during our Early Bird registration period ...

We’re down to just a couple of spots left for our Twin Cities Marathon & 10-mile races. If you’ve been thinking of joining Team U2FP for these events, now’s the time to sign up! Help U2FP advance curative interventions for the SCI Community by ...

Heads up - registration for U2FP’s Annual Science & Advocacy Symposium is opening this Friday, June 18th. Our symposium will be at the Sheraton Salt Lake City hotel this year, on October 22-23, 2021. If you haven’t reserved a room yet, head on over to our Conference Hotel page and book at our group rate. We’ve lined up a great selection of Speakers and structured our Agenda to address the crucial cure questions ...

We’ve been working tirelessly in meetings with many key WI legislators to get our SCI Research funding put back into the Governor’s budget. Now we need your help. Tomorrow (Tuesday, June 15th) is the last budget hearing of the Joint Committee on Finance - and our last chance to get this funding put back into the Governor’s budget. Please contact these Joint Finance Committee Members today and ask them to introduce a motion to add the program funding back into the budget ...

I had no idea when we started this film project that it would become my story. That was not my interest, not even a glimmer on my shaky horizon. I wanted to speak as part of the collective — a small piece of the SCI community looking for answers and relaying them however I could. I wanted to know where we are on our arduous quest for a cure. And I got some answers. But quite honestly ...

Humans are sexual creatures, there is no doubt about it. For many, sexuality is a major life driver and a source of well-being. In poll after poll within the SCI community, regaining sexual function persists in the top of the “wish list”. Yet, outside of fertility and “genitourinary health”, sexual function is given a cold shoulder in SCI research. This is why we launched our Curecast series on sex (we've dubbed it the 'SexCast'), so that sexual function can be ...

We only have 2 spots left on our Twin Cities Marathon team! Help U2FP advance curative interventions for the SCI Community by competing in this year’s Twin Cities Marathon on Sunday, October 3rd! All the regular entries for this year’s Twin Cities Marathon have already been taken. But when you sign up to run or wheel with Team U2FP, you’ll be guaranteed a spot, regardless of your experience level.

I hope you are enjoying the heart of spring and the move toward summer….not to mention the lifting of restrictions and the move towards some sense of normalcy. Speaking of which, we are knee-deep in the process of planning the in-person return to our Annual Science & Advocacy Symposium - October 22-23, in Salt Lake City. And speaking of our Symposium, you might have noticed something different ...

Our Twin Cities Marathon & 10-mile slots are filling up! We only have 2 spots left in the 10-mile race and 2 spots left in the marathon. Help U2FP advance curative interventions for the SCI Community by competing in either the marathon or 10-mile races!

Episode 52 begins our series on Sex, sex and SCI and the research into restoring sexual function. Matthew and Jason start by talking with Kelsey Peterson, Quinn Brett, and Thomas Cloyd about their experiences with sex after injury: their partners, perceptions, feelings and explorations. This is a frank and explicit conversation, so be prepared. We plan to continue the conversation with multiple interviews and guests. So please send us your comments and questions in order to steer our discussion in the most relevant direction.

A clinical trial is currently underway to see if newly injured people with spinal cord injuries improve their recovery by modifying their diets. In earlier experiments, switching paralyzed animals to a high fat, low carbohydrate diet improved their recovery. How about trying this in people too ...

Jimmy Anderson is a state representative in the Wisconsin general Assembly who also lives with an SCI. Jason and Matthew talk with Jimmy about his education, injury and how they led him into politics. They also discuss the effort Jimmy is championing to create a $3 million Wisconsin SCI research program. This push for smart SCI research funding is modeled after similar legislation U2FP’s Cure Advocacy Network has helped pass in other states. Jimmy gives an update on the current status of this proposed funding ...

We learned that Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers included $3M for SCI Research funding into his proposed budget, thanks to our legislative champion, Rep. Jimmy Anderson. Our CAN Manager, Jake Beckstrom, posted an update about this a couple weeks ago. Now we’re asking you to once again pick up the phone - no matter where you live - and contact these key legislators in Wisconsin ...

Ok, you probably heard about this or saw the video clip of the monkey playing a computer game with his brain. The headline is from Forbes. Note the first red flag: revolutionize. This word never adds up to anything but bait. The headline is for sure overstated, but the story itself is only partly lure. Pager, a little nine-year-old rhesus monkey, plays games on a screen, sipping on a banana smoothie as a reward. Check out the video ...

Today is the last day to join Team U2FP for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. BONUS: A generous donor is offering to donate $500 for travel to and lodging at the Chicago Marathon!

Check out the recent news story about longtime Symposium attendee and more recent Wisconsin CAN advocate, John Martinson.

Here's a great piece highlighting the work of our Cure Advocacy Network in Wisconsin, featuring advocate John Martinson, and including U2FP's Matthew Rodreick and Rep. Jimmy Anderson.

This is the final week to join Team U2FP for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. The deadline to register is this Friday, April 23rd. Plus, a generous donor is offering to donate $500 for travel to and lodging for the Chicago Marathon! Just email us your intention to take advantage of this incentive (marathon@u2fp.org) and then register here!

My first experiences with learning how to live with spinal cord injury became deeply connected with Colorado. I attended a monthly science meeting that educated us on the most current research and the trajectory of a fix. It was at that monthly science meeting that I heard this statement: “Everyone recovers some, but no one recovers fully.” That statement kept echoing in my head. There had to be something.

The maple syrup-making process has been reminding me of our Cure Advocacy Network. We have been patiently tapping legislative opportunities in Texas and Wisconsin. And there are finally some signs of sweetness in each of these states.

Time is running out to join Team U2FP for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon! The registration deadline is just a week away: Next Friday, April 23rd. We’ve also just opened another Team U2FP race event - the Medtronic Twin Cities in Motion Marathon & 10-mile races! Sign up to run or wheel at any of these events with Team U2FP.

We have really great news coming out of the Minnesota legislature folks! Earlier this week, the Democratic led House Higher Education Finance Committee, and the Republican led Senate Higher Education Finance Committee released their budgets for the upcoming biennium, and both budgets are keeping the Spinal Cord Injury and Traumatic Brain Injury Research Grant Program intact! On top of that, our friend in the Senate, Chair of the Higher Ed Finance Committee, Sen. David Tomassoni, even included ...

Registration is now open for another Team U2FP race event - the Medtronic Twin Cities in Motion Marathon & 10-mile races! Help U2FP advance curative interventions for the SCI Community by competing in either the marathon or 10-mile races! This year’s events are scheduled for Sunday, October 4, 2021, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Help U2FP advance curative interventions for the SCI Community - join Team U2FP for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon! This year’s race is scheduled for Sunday, October 10, 2021. By joining Team U2FP, you’ll be guaranteed a spot in one of the premier marathon events in the country, even if it’s your first time participating in a marathon event!

Headlines and media coverage of research can often be misleading. Sam talks about his years following and covering the research. He provides a number of suggestions for what to look for, what terms are critical to understand in order to have a better grasp of what the announcement really means for those of us in the SCI community.

Check out the second of five video segments from our Working 2 Walk 2020 Virtual Symposium: Pre-Clinical Research. If you weren't able to join us last fall, you can now watch the Pre-Clinical Research portion of the symposium here on our video library page.

We told you some weeks back that Governor Walz planned to defund and thereby eliminate our SCI/TBI Research Grant Program in Minnesota. This was both surprising and disheartening. Sure, we knew 2020 was a tough year. And there might be some fallout from COVID and economic forecasts. And we might have to compromise on some cuts in the budget. We did not expect, however, the complete elimination of the program in the governor’s proposed budget.

Did you know that the Chicago Marathon is one of the premier marathon events in the country? In fact, they’ve already filled their guaranteed entry slots as of the end of February. But if you join Team U2FP, you’ll be ensured a slot - even if it’s your first time participating in a marathon event. Plus, you’ll be helping U2FP advance curative interventions for the SCI Community!

Quite the cringe-inducing title, no? This is a real headline from a tech/gadget content farm called BGR, for Boy Genius Reports. Not my mainstream but hey, made me look. Here’s a less inflammatory press-release header for the same story: Yale scientists repair injured spinal cord using patients' own stem cells. Major points to know: this sub-acute clinical study is mainly based on Japanese science at Sapporo Medical University. It isn’t new, it’s at least three years old, but the publication of its results just came out: 13 patients with cervical injuries C2 to C5 and aged 21 to 66 were intravenously infused with their own bone-marrow derived stem cells about 50 days post-spinal cord injury. In 12 cases, motor function improvement was reported by the researchers as “significant.” No tumors, no reported adverse events.

We at U2FP are continuing the important work to preserve funding for the Minnesota SCI/TBI Research Program. This past Wednesday, I was part of a group of current and former Advisory Council members from the Minnesota SCI/TBI Research Grant Program who met with Dennis Olson, the Commissioner of Higher Education. We were slated for a 30-minute phone call to plead our case for preserving our $6 million funding of the program.

Check out this brief highlight of U2FP's work - notably our CureCast podcast - in the latest issue of NorCal Spinal's newsletter. NorCal SCI is an organization helping to connect the spinal cord injury community in Northern California.

We're closing in on the final weeks of registration for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, scheduled for October 10, 2021. But there are only 3 weeks left to register! Now's the time to sign up to run or wheel with Team U2FP!

Your voice matters. Often we talk ourselves out of speaking up because we don't think anyone is listening, or we don't think we have anything to say. Here's a brief anecdote to illustrate that if you never try, you'll never know ...

We just got some much-needed good news from Wisconsin! Governor Tony Evers has included $3M for SCI Research in his proposed budget for the next 2 years. Please send a message or call Governor Tony Evers to thank him!

Jason and Matthew speak with Dr. Melissa Miller and Jacqueline Roche from the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program’s SCIRP (Spinal Cord Injury Research Program).

SCIRP is a $40 million per year funding program for SCI that is of specific interest because they include people with SCI in the scientific review process. We talk about the program, its funding strategies and most importantly...how much they want to hear from you!

We still have slots to fill on Team U2FP for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, but the clock is ticking ... there's just a little over a month left before the registration deadline.

I was on a Zoom call last week with four Unite 2 Fight Paralysis colleagues, several members of the Ohio Cure Advocacy Network (CAN), and with two Ohio State scientists, Phillip Popovich and Dana McTigue. The reason for the call was to mingle science and advocacy by discussing a new study from the Popovich lab that was made possible by CAN-channeled money from the Ohio legislature.

We are continuing to press our case for the critical value of the Minnesota SCI/TBI Research Grant Program. We're meeting with legislators, organizing advocates, talking to the media, sending messages and making phone calls. Please join the effort (no matter where you live) by sending Governor Walz a message or calling his office now. Simply share the following:

Our battle to preserve the Minnesota SCI/TBI Research Grant Program continues. And we need everyone from everywhere (any state or country) to call Governor Tim Walz and Rep. Connie Bernardy today before 3pm central time. And if you want to go the extra mile, call all the Committee Members.

Help U2FP advance curative interventions for those of us with an SCI - join Team U2FP for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. When you join Team U2FP, you'll receive guaranteed admission to one of the premier marathons in the United States. We've already filled several spots, but we'd love for you and your friends to join our roster of runners or wheelers!

Despite the challenges of 2020, U2FP continued to grow thanks to the on-going success of our initiatives, the deepening of our strategic partnerships with scientists, clinicians and industry leaders, and a demand from the SCI Community to bring our advocacy efforts to more states. In order to grow in a strategic and sustainable way, we’ve added 2 new staff members and 3 new board members. We’re excited about all of them and wanted you to meet them. Take a look!

We and the SCI/TBI community in Minnesota need your help. Minnesota's Governor, Tim Walz, has introduced a preliminary budget that defunds the $6M Minnesota SCI/TBI Research Grant Program. It is one of many cuts he's proposed to account for other deficits in the state budget. Please call Senator Tomassoni, Rep. Connie Bernardy and Governor Tim Walz asking them to keep this critical program in place.

Maybe you saw this spinal cord research news, it has gotten a lot of media traction in the past week, partly because there was before and after video of treated animals, and yep, they got better. Is this headline backed by any different news than all the other “mice got better” stories you’ve seen in the past 50 years? Breakthrough? Too soon to know. Groundbreaking? Ditto. Let’s say it deserves attention. Here's the gist ...

Team U2FP continues building its roster for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, on Sunday, October 10, 2021. We've already filled several spots, but we want you and your friends to join us! As one of the official charity teams for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon 2021, we provide guaranteed entries for the race in return for your commitment to fundraise for Spinal Cord Injury Research.

Anyone who’s experienced a life-altering trauma has this knowledge that sometimes things go terribly wrong. The lingering grief resides a couple of layers down, but the knowledge is always right there. Like a phantom doorway out on the corner of your mind. For me, this persistent knowledge requires a choice. Do I just acknowledge that it's there and go on about my business, do I ignore it or do I use it as fuel for change?

Check out this great new grant opportunity from our friends at the Neilsen Foundation, starting just after the new year!

As promised, we've just made public the first of six video segments from our Working 2 Walk Virtual Symposium this past October. If you weren't able to join us then, you can now watch the Clinical Research portion of the symposium on our video library page (or on our YouTube channel).

Jason and Matthew talk with Dr. Richard Toselli, the President, CEO and CMO at InVivo Therapeutics. InVivo has developed and is trialing its Neuro Spinal Scaffold for the treatment of Spinal Cord Injury in the acute setting. We talk with Dr. Toselli about its development, current testing and potential future uses and applications.

As 2020 comes to a close, I've been trying to take stock of the past 12 months. I know many of us have experienced deep and difficult pain. And that pain has been compounded by a sense of fear and the unknown. Fortunately, in my conversations with many of you, I've been encouraged (but not surprised) by our community's resilience and staying power. After all, we in the SCI Community were familiar with the concept of social distancing long before Covid-19 arrived.

Team U2FP is building its roster for next year - and we're looking for runners and wheelers to join our ranks for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon 2021! This coming year's race is on Sunday, October 12, 2021. As in years past, Team U2FP is an official Charity Partner for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. We have 25 spots to fill - and we want you!

Let's continue to raise our voice, share our struggles and joys together, and use the energy from this emotional roller coaster constructively to get ourselves and our loved ones the functional recovery they deserve.

Giving Tuesday is just a week away - next Tuesday, December 1st! What is Giving Tuesday? It's a global generosity movement, unleashing the power of people and organizations to transform their communities and the world.
We want to use this day of giving to encourage you to make a year-end gift, or become a monthly donor to U2FP. U2FP continues to work hard for the SCI Community, and these two groups of supporters have made a huge difference in our being able to make important gains, such as:

We are seeing the benefits of U2FP’s choice to facilitate proximity, collaboration and cross-fertilization. The research enterprise is now recognizing - and sometimes even requiring - that the SCI Community’s voice is heard at every intersection of advancement: discovery, translation, clinical study and commercial development. U2FP is already well-positioned at these intersections. That is the choice we’ve made and will continue to expand upon.

Team U2FP is building its roster for next year - and we're looking for runners and wheelers to join our ranks for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon 2021. Join Team U2FP! As one of the official charity teams for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon 2021, we provide guaranteed entries for the race in return for your commitment to fundraise for Spinal Cord Injury Research.

Could there finally be a bit of a bandwagon effect happening in spinal cord stimulation? There are clinical trials aplenty, including implanted stimulators and the ones that work on the skin surface, without surgery. There are now companies testing spinal cord stimulators with an eye on the market, trials with kids are happening, and there are SCI clinicians in the real world using stim devices that are commercially available, albeit not designed for paralysis.

As 2020 draws to a close, many of our supporters may be making arrangements for their year-end charitable contributions. Given the tumultuous year this has been, I wanted to make the SCI Community aware of some new tax incentives made available by the CARES ACT that was passed earlier this year. Hopefully, these recent additions to the tax code can help you maximize your giving potential while reducing your tax burden.

This year was my first opportunity to attend Unite 2 Fight Paralysis’ annual symposium: Working 2 Walk. I heard about this conference through my friend here in Ohio, Ian Burkhart, who has a C5 SCI. (You may also know Ian from U2FP's Cure Advocacy Network, where he and other SCI advocates helped secure $3M for SCI Research here in Ohio; or you may have read about his success with an experimental brain implant). When registration for Working 2 Walk opened, I also heard how impactful and meaningful this conference was from Drs. Phil Popovich and Dana McTigue, and so was excited to have a chance to be a part of it.

Jason and Matthew speak with Leon Ford about his advocacy and activism in Pittsburgh and across the United States. The conversation weaves in and through the wisdom that Leon has earned through tragedy, pain and self reflection...and its relationship to our work of protest and partnership.

This is it - the last day to register for the Working 2 Walk Virtual Symposium (Thursday, October 22nd - Saturday, October 24th). We still have deep discounts available (75%!) for Individuals with an SCI, their families and caregivers.

Working 2 Walk starts this week (!) on Thursday, October 22nd and runs through Saturday, October 24th. Registration closes tomorrow night, so don't wait - register now! Over the last couple months, we've been sending out summaries of the various stakeholder groups we'll be featuring at the Symposium. In case you missed any of them, here they are:

- Pre-Clinical Research: broadly defined as research done in laboratory experiments and animal models
- Clinical Research: research performed with humans
- Industry: companies that are trying to bring a research discovery to a clinical product
- Funder: agencies or foundations that fund research of all kinds
- SCI Advocacy: SCI foundations/nonprofit organizations working to influence all the above stakeholders

How things get made. There’s a whole slew of books, podcasts, YouTube channels and - if your social media feeds are anything like mine - lots and lots of short videos showing how all sorts of things are created from Twinkies to robots. Well, the next session highlight is a little bit like this, albeit more complicated: Industry

Stem cells are on the California ballot. Again. Sixteen years ago, voters overwhelmingly supported Proposition 71, which created the $3 billion California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM). The agency has spent just about all the money, and they’re asking for more, Proposition 14, this time for $5.5 billion. If they don’t get it they will either disband or adapt, perhaps as a nonprofit of some sort.

Today, we’re giving you a summary of the pre-clinical research session at this year's Working 2 Walk Symposium. Pre-clinical research can be roughly defined as the relationship between discovery and early stage translation toward clinical use.

For some of us, the roots of our grief are inextricably wound up in the urgency to realize curative therapies. But grief is not enough and often not the best guide. We must grow our knowledge of the science and the various systems within which it operates in order to fund research well.

Jason and Matthew interview professional climber and passionate spinal cord injury advocate, Quinn Brett. We talk with Quinn about her career as a climber, the 100 foot fall from the face of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park that dropped her into our SCI community, and how she’s navigating the ascents of advocacy.

One of the first steps in being an advocate for finding a cure for paralysis is to elect officials that will listen to our concerns, obtain research funding, and enact legislation to improve our quality of life and work with us to find a cure.

We are continuing to feature each of our 5 key stakeholder sessions at Working 2 Walk. Today we want to talk about the SCI Advocacy Session (You can read the summary of the clinical research session from the last newsletter here). Attendees will hear from 3 individuals from the SCI community - from 3 different parts of the world - about how they see the problem of spinal cord injury, how they are addressing it, and where they believe we need to go ...

Spinal cord nerves don’t grow in adults, but once upon a time, when we were embryos, these cells grew like crazy. What happened to their growth motor, could we find it and turn cell growth back on, especially after injury?

This year’s Working 2 Walk Symposium is coming up quick, and we’re going to be dropping these notes to explain a little bit of the agenda in the hope that it will stir your thoughts and generate questions that will lead to some critical and valuable conversations for all of our attendees.

How do we create longevity within a movement? We foster community. We connect. We find joy together so we can fight together. Simon Rosser, PhD, MPH made me hip to this concept over a conversation we had during production for SUBMERGED. I was interviewing Dr. Rosser about his involvement with AIDS activism in the 80’s and 90’s, how their community accomplished what they did, and the things we, as the SCI community searching for a cure, could learn from their efforts.

Sometimes I fear that our community is not expected to venture into the deep end of this pool. But we are asking you - the SCI Community - to seek deeper waters. It's one of the main reasons U2FP exists: to educate and unite our community towards an effective relationship with the whole cure enterprise, its strategies and one another.

In our latest CureCast interview, Jason Stoffer and Matthew Rodreick speak with long time activists and twins, Jason and David Carmel. David was injured over two decades ago while vacationing in Mexico. He has gone on to a successful career in biotech. Jason is a PhD / MD researcher at Columbia University who researches activity based therapies and electrical stimulation. Their unique connection as twins weaves in and through our conversation for a unique perspective on their journey, work and activism after SCI.

Jason and Matthew interview Dr. Gregoire Courtine, the Chief Science Officer of GTX Medical and Professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. Dr. Courtine has been researching spinal cord stimulation for over 20 years and is hoping to bring that research to clinical relevance with emerging clinical trials with GTX’s LIFT (non-invasive electrical spinal cord stimulation) and GO2 (targeted epidural spinal stimulation).

If you follow spinal cord injury research, you will sooner or later come across the name Bob Yant. If you don’t yet know him, let me introduce you to the ultimate cure warrior.

In case you haven’t heard, The Bank of America Chicago Marathon (BACM) and the Twin Cities in Motion (TCM) Marathon and 10-mile races have been cancelled and are transitioning to virtual events, due to Covid-19. Fortunately, we anticipated this happening awhile back. Which is why Team U2FP launched our own Virtual Run-Walk-Roll last month!

Jason and Matthew interview Dr. Ethan Perlstein, formerly the Chief Science Officer at the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation and Founder of Perlara. We talk about Ethan’s work to develop a ‘roadmap to cures for paralysis’, along with his experience, reception and impressions for where the cure movement can and should go next.

Jason and Matthew interview Dr. Susan Harkema, from the University of Louisville. We discuss her long standing research using the strategy of neuromodulation, neuroplasticity and locomotor training to discover and understand the potential for functional recovery after Spinal Cord Injury.

A 70-patient clinical trial has begun enrolling people with high cervical injuries to study the effect of a nerve transfer procedure on hand and finger function. The lead site for the trial is Washington University in St. Louis. Wilson Ray, M

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, many fundraising events - including marathons - have been postponed, cancelled or transitioned into virtual events. Team U2FP's participation in The Bank of America Chicago Marathon and the Medtronic Twin Cities in Motion Marathon & 10-mile races have been our largest annual fundraisers. ln recent years, Team U2FP has raised up to $35,000 from these events! These dollars are vital to help U2FP fuel all of our initiatives, bringing us closer to our goal of achieving functional recovery for those living with an SCI.

That's Dr. Phil Popovich presenting on The Gut Microbiome and Spinal Cord Injury at Working 2Walk 2019. Dr. Popovich is the Professor and Chair in the Department of Neuroscience at Ohio State University. His presentation was one of the most highly rated talks of our conference this year! You can watch Dr. Popovich’s presentation in full right now on our Video Library page, along with Dr. Dana McTigue’s adjoining presentation: Spinal Cord Injury Causes Chronic Liver Pathology and Metabolic Disruption in Rodents.

Jason and Matthew interview Drs. Kelly and Roy Cho to discuss COVID-19, their practical understanding of the virus, developing treatment practices and how that intersects with folks who have impairments as a result of disability in general and SCI specifically.

Unite 2 Fight Paralysis is transitioning its 15th Annual Working 2 Walk Science & Advocacy Symposium to a fully-virtual, livestream meeting! This unique, interactive event will take place over the course of three days, from Thursday, October 22nd - Saturday, October 24th, 2020! With the ongoing health risks posed by COVID-19, particularly for the SCI Community, we have decided that an in-person meeting this year would be unwise.

It still blows my mind that I can’t feel 75% of my body, and every spring there is a rebirth of that longing, an awareness that rises to the surface of how alone and trapped I sometimes feel. I feel it every season, in different ways, but for some reason spring is the most intense. It throws me, and I find myself nostalgic for the past and yearning for the future, wishing that I could have these moments of joy, pleasure and expression back in my life; these moments in your body, in the sensuousness of life that ground you, empower you, release you and ignite you.

Two research items to report today. The first a cool study from the Mark Tuszynski lab on how injured brain cells revert to a genetically immature state and if that state is maintained using certain stem cell grafts, the brain cells can be encouraged to regenerate. The second is a study starring Ian Burkhart (who help U2FP's CAN push through $3M for SCI Research in Ohio last year) who has a high cervical injury and a chip implanted in his brain.

"What is the goal here? What are we trying to do?...and to me it still is and has always been to basically restore near normal function to people that have chronic spinal cord injury…that’s what I wanna talk about….what I’ve learned is that I have to start with that. And I have to start with the following sentence, which is: I believe that’s possible and what I wanna do is to be a part of making that happen.” This is an excerpt from Jason and Matthew’s interview with Dr. Murray Blackmore from Marquette University

I ran in the Wings for Life World Run Sunday. There were 77,103 of us in 104 countries around the world, each alone due to prudent social distancing, but all together for the cause of raising money for spinal cord injury research. We raised $3 million for SCI research! This is a cool race. First off, everybody starts at the exact same time. 1 p.m. in Paris, 7 p.m. in Beijing. Here on the West Coast, that’s 4 a.m., dark and solitary.

Living with paralysis requires living with risk. The COVID pandemic with all of its far-reaching implications serves as an acute reminder of our sense of urgency. We are committed to pursuing and accelerating cures for paralysis through our collaborative advocacy, activist and education initiatives.

You may have heard about the upcoming online event - #GivingTuesdayNow - meant to support nonprofits in these tough economic times. But did you know that the recent stimulus bill passed by Congress to address the economic impact of Covid-19 added a tax break to incentivize charitable contributions?

Jason and Matthew interview Dr. Harold Punnett (co-founder and member of the Board of Directors) and Paul Brennan (President and CEO) from NervGen Pharma. They discuss how Dr. Punnett’s daughter-in-law’s Spinal Cord Injury led to the connection with Dr. Jerry Silver and eventually the founding of the company.

U2FP is helping to create an SCI Community-centric GPS. A GPS that helps us to understand where we are, where we’ve been, what and to whom we’re connected, and - realistically - where we are in relation to cures. Because what we do have in the SCI Community is influence. No one else knows this injury like we do and because of that we have to speak up.

In this interview we talk with Drs. Sasha Rabchevsky and Michael Lane about how the COVID-19 shutdown has affected the research effort and how researchers and institutions are adapting. We then explore some ideas about what we might see or anticipate on the other end of the shutdown.

U2FP continues its effort to locate and redistribute vents sitting unused in basements or garages. Need an incentive? How about $1000! The Valley Medical Center Foundation, in San Jose, CA, is offering a bounty for vents. You can find out more information and fill out their online form here

The America Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) has joined U2FP in our effort to identify used/unused ventilators for donation.

These are indeed challenging times. Here at U2FP, we are hoping the lab lights are turned on again soon, and we are preparing for that day. We continue to form alliances with cure advocates, the research community and state legislators, always focusing on treatments for chronic spinal cord injury. Especially during this big COVID pause, we’re committed to keeping the community informed.

In other words, persons with disabilities should not be put at the end of the line for health services during emergencies. “Our civil rights laws protect the equal dignity of every human life from ruthless utilitarianism,” says the HHS. So, what do providers need to do? Ethicists recommend they direct resources to those with the greatest chance of survival and the longest remaining life spans — a pragmatic utilitarian approach. How would that work?

Matthew talks with Kelsey Peterson, the woman behind the documentary film SUBMERGED - formerly titled “The Cure Map”. Matthew and Kelsey talk about her pathway to advocacy and the genesis of the Cure Map project, the recent announcement of being the recipient of the highly competitive ITVS Open Call award, the effects of the COVID-19 troubles and lots more.

A few days ago U2FP put out a call out to our community to identify unused or previously used ventilators that could be brought back into circulation, given the shortages across the country due to COIVD-19. One of the first responders was Jessical Fredette, a woman living in St. Paul MN (who happens to be a wonderful photographer) who had 2 ventilators in good working order and no longer needed them. She was willing to donate them provided they could be put to use.

I thought I’d share some much-needed GOOD news during this crazy time. Back in July, SUBMERGED was 1 of over 300 films to apply for funding by ITVS Open Call. In November, I received an unforgettable phone call: SUBMERGED was 1 of only 7 films green-lit for funding! (Only 2%!). And now, having just received my contract in the mail this week, it’s finally official: we have been awarded funding!!

So many in our SCI community have had plenty of experience with this so-called ‘social distance’ (I prefer the phrase ‘physical distancing’) over the course of the injury. It’s a kind of twisted rite of passage that has both caused significant pain and significant strength. Of course, as a family member my ‘physical distancing’ was differently short-lived and far less comprehensive than my son’s. But most of you in a weird irony have already lived through the fear, anxiety, pain and loneliness that comes in tow. And some of you live with it still.

Jason and Matthew interview Conquer Paralysis Now founder, Sam Schmidt (see his bio below). We discuss Sam’s history as a race car driver, his injury, the genesis for the foundation and his recent project Driven, an Activity Based Fitness center in Las Vegas Nevada.

Paul Lu, a scientist at the Center for Neural Repair at the University of California, San Diego, has recently joined the U2FP Scientific Advisory Board. We welcome his expertise and thank him for his commitment to the field. Lu’s work focuses on repair of chronic spinal cord injury. His motivation is in many ways personal: Lu’s own injury drives him toward finding cures. “My goal is to solve the mysteries of spinal cord repair, for all of medicine, and also for myself,” says Lu. “It’s an exciting time in my field of work, and I have always believed that science will restore a meaningful degree of my lost function.” Let’s meet Dr. Lu and explore his research.

I find myself back in a place where my heart is so broken, but I’m not scared this time. Even though I don’t have my Dad here, I’m still his daughter. And even though I’m paralyzed, I am still me.

Team U2FP is proud to announce that registration is open for one of our biggest fundraisers of the year: the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon and Medtronic TC 10 Mile races.

Researchers, clinicians, companies, investors and those who are injured tend to think that if the right people are in the room, then curative treatments will eventually happen, organically. For a long time, I believed simply that there just weren’t enough rooms, events and opportunities for all the ‘right’ people to be in the room together. While I still think this is true to some degree, I’ve come to believe that the assumption falls short of what we need.

February has been a good month for the Cure Advocacy Network. We have made progress on every one of our state fronts. This month, I invested much of my time in getting all of our state advocates booked for individual state conference calls and am helping to guide and shape our next steps for action in each of them.

After a mostly quiet grant review period in Q4 of 2019, the SAB got very busy in 2020 with eight separate grant proposals coming in a single day in January, all from the same funder. The Bryon Riesch Foundation, based in Wisconsin, has asked us to review over $500,000 in potential funding from seven labs.

In Epsiode 34 of U2FP's CureCast podcast, we introduce Jason Stoffer. We talk with Jason about who he is, where he hails from and how he came to be the new co-host on the podcast. We also talk with Kate Willette, author of Don’t Call It a Miracle: The Movement To Cure Spinal Cord Injury, about her new projects. It's an intimate and wide-ranging conversation that we think you’ll enjoy.

Momentum behind Team U2FP for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon continues to grow. Not only do we have half of our spots filled, but we now have a Team Captain for the BACM! We’ll be introducing her here in this space in the coming weeks, so keep an eye out for that! As a reminder, the Team Captain is a new position we created this year, to further support all Team U2FP runners and wheelers during their training, race day, and through the end of 2020.

Check out Episode 33 of CureCast. We (Kate Willette, Jason Stoffer and Matthew Rodreick) talk with Dr. Mohamad Bydon from the Mayo Clinic. You may have seen the Good Morning America piece focused on 'super responder' patient one in the Phase 1 Clinical Trial using Adipose Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells. We wanted to understand more about the study, how to go beyond the media hype and get an understanding of where Dr. Bydon sees this research going.

For a small organization, U2FP is having a big impact on where and how curative interventions are happening. With our Cure Advocacy Network’s most recent victory in Ohio this past year ($3M of SCI research funding), we’ve increased the SCI Community’s impact on the curative research landscape to almost $12M. And $4M of that money has come just in the last year and half! Here’s the latest on what we have cooking right now in each of the state’s we’re working in:

Our roster of Team U2FP runners and wheelers for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon (on Sunday, October 11, 2020) continues to grow! We have nearly half of our spots filled, with a growing list of interested racers who have signaled their intent to join our team. Don’t wait until it’s too late - join Team U2FP for the Chicago Marathon today by clicking here right now!

The Craig H. Neilsen Foundation is pleased to announce its Psychosocial Research (PSR) funding opportunity, opening February 12, 2020. Eligible organizations interested in research to address psychological and social factors that affect health, functioning and quality of life for people living with SCI are encouraged to apply.

A research proposal by the EndParalysis organization to continue a project at the Cleveland Clinic has been approved by U2FP’s Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) after initially getting a lukewarm review.

Kate, Matthew and Jason Stoffer (our new podcast host) have a conversation with Dr. Stephen Strittmatter, The Vincent Coates Professor of Neurology and Professor of Neuroscience at Yale School of Medicine. His discoveries over the last two decades of research led to the founding of ReNetX, who are applying that technology to discover if neurons can regrow in the chronic injury (in humans) by eliminating inhibitory growth factors.

You've helped Unite 2 Fight Paralysis accomplish so much this past year. From passing $3M of smart SCI Research funding in Ohio, to adding livestreaming to this year's Working 2 Walk Symposium, to the post-production development of the SUBMERGED Film Project (aka The Cure Map).

Since I became a quadriplegic/tetraplegic, there have been drastic changes in my physical activity, my sex life and my general ability to connect with others physically - and in turn energetically and emotionally. I’m always wondering how these changes and losses from my disability have affected my mental and emotional health, because I feel them. I struggle with these drastic shifts everyday.

I published an overview of some current clinical trials (Clinical Trials: Success, Promise, Prison) last Friday, December 6th, including an analysis of the recent stem cell recovery story featured on ABC's Good Morning America.

The 2019 Working 2 Walk (W2W) Symposium in Cleveland, Ohio, was the first W2W Symposium I have attended. It won’t be my last. I was injured in the late summer of 2005 during a pool-party gathering with friends and fellow teammates after a high school football practice ...

As you probably saw in our newsletter and recent social media posts, the first registration period (where the fundraising threshold is the lowest) for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon 2020 concluded on December 3rd. We got a great start on registrations and are now almost half-way to filling our roster! The best news is that there's still time to join our team and make a difference for the SCI Community.

We have taken a large step forward in Ohio. On November 7, the Ohio Cure Advocacy Network (CAN) met with the Chancellor of the Department of Higher Education and his staff to discuss setting up the advisory board which will approve disbursement of the $3 million our CAN advocates helped pass there in July. We've been moving quickly ever since then and continue to make great progress ...

There are over 200 current clinical trials in the U.S. targeting spinal cord injury, and it’s getting more difficult to keep them all straight. Here is a look at several recent or ongoing trials of note, and some SCI trial related news.

The Craig H. Neilsen Foundation is pleased to announce its 2020 Creating Opportunity & Independence (CO&I) funding opportunity for qualifying nonprofit organizations that strive to improve the quality of life for individuals living with or affected by spinal cord injury (SCI).

The FDA/CDRH is hosting this webinar tomorrow, November 12, regarding patient engagement. We thought you would be interested in attending. Below are the details about the event. The FDA is pleased to share that on Tuesday November 12th 2019 from 2:00 – 2:45pm ET, Mimi Nguyen from FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health will be holding a Webinar to discuss the Center’s recent Draft Guidance:

Though the Bank of America Chicago Marathon 2019 & Twin Cities in Motion Marathon and 10-mile races are behind us, it's not too late to celebrate Team U2FP's accomplishment by donating to their extraordinary campaigns: they ran and wheeled 26.2 miles for SCI research! Missed your chance to join Team U2FP this year? Don't worry - we'll be following up soon with details on how to sign up for either the Bank of America Chicago Marathon 2020 or the Twin Cities in Motion Marathon and 10-mile races.

The SAB continues to foster new and previous charity clients to take advantage of our rigorous scientific review services. We processed a grant application in October from a Netherlands group called

Major steps are in the works for creating an advisory board in Ohio to allocate the $3 million in SCI funding our CAN activists helped pass there in July of this year. And the $10 million SCI Research Bill we introduced in Wisconsin (also this past July) with Rep. Jimmy Anderson is ramping up as we monitor its progress through the committees of the Wisconsin legislature, to eventually be voted on in the Senate and Assembly floor.

Though you often see substantial recovery in animal models of SCI, we have not yet had a treatment that worked in rats translated to human patients. The reasons for this are many and complicated. They are still being hotly debated.

Biotech start-up ReNetX has begun enrolling people with chronic cervical spinal cord injuries in a clinical trial to test a molecular cocktail called Nogo Trap. This is a two-part trial that will eventually include 66 patients.

Given the great news that our Ohio Cure Advocacy Network (CAN) activists helped pass another $3M in SCI research dollars, we thought you might like to hear from someone who had their wheels on the ground with us in Ohio, from start to finish. Here's a brief video that Allie Leatherman sent us (just before the $3M Ohio bill passed) about why she got involved with U2FP and what she's gotten out of it.

Thanks to your support, and the passion and persistence of our Cure Advocacy Network (CAN) advocates in Ohio we’re happy to announce that we have won another legislative victory! We just passed a $3 million earmark for Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) research in Ohio’s higher education budget.

It's been an exciting few days for our Cure Advocacy Network (CAN) - this time in Wisconsin. It's been over 2 years in the making, but last week we attended a press conference at 1 pm, called by Rep. Jimmy Anderson (our champion legislator who has an SCI) to formally introduce our Bill proposing to establish $10 million in funding SCI research that is pursuant of functional recovery from paralysis.

I just cried my eyes out watching Brené Brown’s - The Call to Courage.

Maybe because I’ve spent the last seven years since my injury being courageous. For god’s sake, I lived at the frickin Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Institute for three months going through rehab after my spinal cord injury. Every single day I took chances and wussed out; succeeded and failed.

Every. Single. Day. It was terrifying.

At the 2016 Working 2 Walk Science and Advocacy Symposium in Minneapolis we tried something a little different. We asked attendees to make a commitment to advocacy for the coming year. At the end of the Symposium, we had almost 60 people who committed to some form of advocacy. Amongst those 60 individuals was Kate Chalfin. She wanted to advocate for a Bill to fund SCI research in her home state of Pennsylvania, modeled after Minnesota's success. Kate and her husband Jake, along with many others in our PA Cure Advocacy Network (CAN), stuck with the hard work of learning 'how the sausage is made'. And last year - after 2 years of persistent work ...

Summer is finally here in our part of the world, which means that our 14th Annual Working 2 Walk Science and Advocacy Symposium is just around the corner (October 4-5 in Cleveland). While we continue our planning efforts to ensure this year's Symposium is the best yet, we're excited about how many of the details are coming together! Below are some recent developments to take note of ...

Our Fuel the Journey campaign to add 35 new monthly donors has gotten off to a great start. Thanks to your enthusiasm we've already added 5 new monthly donors! Today we wanted to share another brief video that Alejandro Leal sent us about why he gives monthly to U2FP.

It's been a couple of months since our last podcast, but we're back with a fresh episode of U2FP's CureCast. In our latest interview, Kate and Matthew talk with Dr. David Darrow, the Minneapolis neurosurgeon who is the Lead Investigator in the ESTAND trial ...

Last week we kicked off our Fuel the Journey campaign - an effort to strategically leverage our education, advocacy, and research initiatives as well as keep pace with the great legislative progress our Cure Advocacy Network (CAN) activists are making in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Today we wanted to share with you a brief video that one of our monthly donors - Elizabeth Dierdorf - sent us about why she gives monthly to U2FP ...

As Kate Willette wrote in her must-read book, Don’t Call It A Miracle, the medical breakthroughs that reduced the impact of the AIDS epidemic were brought about not by a brilliant scientist, or a rich investor, or an innovative biotech company. Rather, HIV/AIDS became treatable primarily because the brilliant scientists, rich investors, and innovative biotech companies were helped to succeed through the persistent advocacy of the affected ‘patient group’ ....

We’re always talking about the need for collaboration here at U2FP. Indeed, it’s how we approach our work everyday. We constantly ask ourselves: who can we add to help enhance this difficult SCI conversation? How can we connect this young, creative advocate with the right scientists for her documentary? How can we arrange for this device entrepreneur to meet the smart post-doc we know who might speed his prototype out of beta testing? How do we articulate the frustrations of this journey while still remaining hopeful? What are the best practices for separating out the real science from the hype - and how can we help others in the SCI Community do the same?

We have another video uploaded and ready to view from last fall’s Working 2 Walk Symposium. Wolfram Tetzlaff’s presentation at Working 2 Walk in Vancouver elicited a broad range of responses from our attendees. His talk — Locomotor Recovery Following Moderate or Severe Contusive SCI Does Not Require Oligodendrocyte Remyelination — calls into question “the interpretation/validity of rodent models used in support of clinical trials of transplantation of oligodendrocytes precursor cells” ...

There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t catch myself daydreaming of being able-bodied again, always dancing in my head. Not one day that I don’t miss TOUCH the way it used to be, and that I don’t long for that feeling. Not one day that I don’t wish that this would all just go away, and I could have my body back ...

We’ve added another marathon this year! We’re looking for WHEELERS and RUNNERS to join Team U2FP in both our Chicago race and Twin Cities races (new this year!) right now. Registration for the 2019 Bank of America Chicago Marathon is open through March 31 ...

Last month, I had the opportunity to represent U2FP as well as the North American SCI Consortium (NASCIC) in addressing a gathering of scientists, therapists, clinicians and the SCI Community at a 2-day NIH conference entitled SCI 2020: Launching a Decade for Disruption in Spinal Cord Injury Research (you can watch the conference here & here if you missed it). This was a unique opportunity, in that it may have been the first time that the SCI Community was formally part of these meetings and had a chance to make a presentation to the audience ...

As Kelsey mentioned in her post last week, Barry Munro's talk at Working 2 Walk this past fall in Vancouver made a lasting impact on her. She wasn't the only one. Lot's of attendees told us how impactful Barry's presentation was. Check it out!

When I attended Working 2 Walk last October, Barry Munro (CSRO’s Chief Development Officer & a U2FP Board Member) shared words about us being the “stakeholders.” Those words have really stuck with me. I’ve been thinking more and more about the weight of our influence on the effort for Cures. And by “us” I mean those of us who know what it’s like to sit in a chair; I mean the able-bodied warriors ...

Authors: Elisabeth SERGER, G. KONG, I. PALMISANO, E. MCLACHLAN, S. DI GIOVANNI Lab Abstract: Mammalian axonal regeneration is limited in the injured peripheral nervous system (PNS) occur and it fails in the central nervous system (CNS) such as after a … Continue reading →

You may remember Megan Gill, of the Mayo Clinic, as one of the authors on that Nature article that was picked up by several major media outlets back in September of last year. Megan was able to use her time at Working 2 Walk to deepen and further contextualize that paper's findings in her presentation, Spinal Cord Epidural Electrical Stimulation: An Update on Motor and Mobility Outcomes.

Our Cure Advocacy Network is working hard right now - we've been at the Capital in Ohio this week, meeting with legislators Tuesday and yesterday, and have another round of meetings today. By the end of the day, we will have had over 30 meetings with legislators, and we may have found our Bill’s author.

Our new contributing science writer, Alina Garbuzov, follows up on her previous post about the importance of the SCI Community educating themselves. Here, Alina outlines specific resources for where to get started, how to navigate the daunting landscape of scientific research on the internet, as well as some suggestions for keeping a balanced perspective through it all.

“Injuries to the spinal cord can cause permanent paralysis and even lead to death, with little to no hope of regaining lost functions once the trauma has occurred. Dr Jerry Silver and his team at Case Western Reserve University Medical … Continue reading →

Authors: S. DI GIOVANNI, E. MACLACHLAN, I. PALMISANO, T. HUTSON, A. HERVERA, F. DE VIRGILIIS, M. DANZI, J. BIXBY, V. LEMMON Lab Abstract: Regeneration after peripheral nerve injury depends on the activation of key signalling events, the recruitment of transcription … Continue reading →

The goal of the ‘SCI 2020: Launching a Decade for Disruption in Spinal Cord Injury Research’ conference is to initiate discussion across the SCI research community to launch a new decade of research that disrupts traditional barriers and brings about … Continue reading →

“Engineered Neuroplasticity for Spinal Cord Rehabilitation” by Chet Moritz, PhD, PT (University of Washington), at the 7th Annual International Symposium on Regenerative Rehabilitation.  

If you have a spinal cord injury, you need to know more science than the average, able-bodied person. Specifically, you need to know neuroscience and some basic biology. I’ve learned this as an SCI patient three years out from my injury; and as a biologist who now works in a spinal cord injury lab. While I believe all citizens need to have a basic scientific understanding, I would argue that if you are facing a difficult diagnosis, such as SCI, you need science even more.

Below are three reasons you should become an armchair neuroscientist ...

Our Cure Advocacy Network (CAN) activists in Pennsylvania had the opportunity to be at Governor Tom Wolf’s signing of the $1M PA Spinal Cord Disability Research Grant Act (thanks to the Canadian/American Spinal Research Organization’s travel support).

The Bill (passed in October 2018) allocates $1 million to fund research in Pennsylvania and is pursuant of the functional recovery of people living with Spinal Cord Injuries.

Authors: A. GUIJARRO-BELMAR, M. VISKONTAS, X. BO, D. SHEWAN, W. HUANG Lab Abstract: Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a highly debilitating trauma affecting millions of patients worldwide with no cure. The challenges for spinal repair include a lack of intrinsic … Continue reading →

We continue our roll-out of newly available videos from this past year's set of presentations at Working 2 Walk 2018 in Vancouver. We decided Dr. Lyn Jakeman's presentation, The Breadcrumb Path from Bench to Bedside, would be timely as we gain insight into The National Institute of Health's upcoming event: SCI 2020: Launching a Decade for Disruption in Spinal Cord Injury Research.

Authors: L.V. Zholudeva, Michael.A. Lane Lab Abstract: “Cellular transplantation for repair of the injured spinal cord has a rich history with strategies focused on neuroprotection, immunomodulation, and neural reconstruction. The goal of the present review is to provide a concise … Continue reading →

In this presentation, Dr.Alicia Fuhrman in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Washington, explains the complex and rapidly expanding field of stem cell medicine. She begins by clarifying what stem cells are and how they are used in different … Continue reading →

Now that the new year is in full swing, we have a fresh set of Working 2 Walk videos that will be headed your way in the coming weeks and months. Dr. Andrei Krassioukov gave an invigorating presentation at Working 2 Walk 2018 in Vancouver this past year. It generated a fair amount of conversation amongst both the SCI and scientific communities in attendance.

Authors: Kyriakos Dalamagkas, Magdalini Tsintou, Amelia Seifalian, Alexander M. Seifalian Abstract: “Spinal cord injury is a chronic and debilitating neurological condition that is currently being managed symptomatically with no real therapeutic strategies available. Even though there is no consensus on the best time … Continue reading →

Kelsey here. Coming to you from the lovely Bay Area where we (my friend and film partner, Madeline Brown, and I) have relocated to edit our upcoming film. It’s the story of my personal journey through SCI, the power of community, and why a cure is in our hands. Hard, fun and exciting work! In addition to this massive undertaking, I’ll be sharing my thoughts with you here on a semi-regular basis. Because I think we need more voices (mine, yours, and others) telling OUR story of what life is like with a Spinal Cord Injury.

Authors: Jacob Koffler, Wei Zhu, Xin Qu, Oleksandr Platoshyn, Jennifer N. Dulin, John Brock, Lori Graham, Paul Lu, Jeff Sakamoto, Martin Marsala, Shaochen Chen, Mark H. Tuszynski “Current methods for bioprinting functional tissue lack appropriate biofabrication techniques to build complex 3D micro architectures essential for guiding cell … Continue reading →

Authors: STEVEN L. CETO, K. SEKIGUCHI, A. NIMMERJAHN, M. H. TUSZYNSKI; Lab Abstract: Neural stem cells (NSCs) grafted into sites of spinal cord injury (SCI) may act as new electrophysiological relays between host neurons above and below the lesion. Host … Continue reading →

Authors: M. RATH, D. G. SAYENKO, Y. P. GERASIMENKO, V. EDGERTON Lab Abstract: Recently we have developed the non-invasive electrical spinal stimulation technology for postural control in SCI subjects during standing. However, the potential of non-invasive spinal stimulation to facilitate … Continue reading →

Authors: Satoshi Nori, Mohamad Kahazaei, Christopher S. Ahuja, Kazuya Yokota, Jan-Eric Ahlfors, Yang Liu, Jain Wang, Shinsuke Shibata, Jonathon Chio, Marian H Hettiaratchi, Tobias Fuhrmann, Molly S. Shoichet, Michael G. Gehlings Summary: “Treatment of chronic spinal cord injury (SCI) is … Continue reading →

Authors: C. JUZWIK, B. MORQUETTE, Y. ZHANG, E. GOWING, C. BOUDREAU-PINSONNEAULT, V. VANGOOR, R. PASTERKAMP, C. MOORE, A. BAR-OR, A. E. FOURNIER Lab Abstract: Neuroinflammation can positively influence axon regeneration following injury in the central nervous system (CNS) but the … Continue reading →

Happy Holidays from Spinal Cord Injury Research and Science Report – – thank you to our followers in 175 countries around the world.      

Authors: Matthias Walter, Amanda H. X. Lee, Alex Kavanagh, Aaron A. Phillips and Andrei V. Krassioukov “Regaining control of autonomic functions such as those of the cardiovascular system, lower urinary tract and bowel, rank among the most important health priorities … Continue reading →

In preparation for the February NIH SCI 2020, a 4 Part Series begins here at the SCI Research Report during the first month of 2019.  By the end of this informational series, you will feel better prepared to participate at the … Continue reading →

In preparation for the February NIH SCI 2020,  this is the LINK you will be using to watch the meeting live on the day of the event.   https://videocast.nih.gov/ Tuesday February 12th at 8:AM Eastern Time Wednesday February 13th at 8:00 AM … Continue reading →

In preparation for the February NIH SCI 2020,  this is the LINK you will be using to watch the meeting live on the day of the event.   https://videocast.nih.gov/ Tuesday February 12th at 8:AM Eastern Time Wednesday February 13th at 8:00 AM … Continue reading →

“In 2013, Dustin Shillcox became 1 of the first 4 people in the world to be a part of groundbreaking epidural stimulation research at the University of Louisville.  A set of electrodes was surgically implanted onto his spinal cord below the level of his injury and a … Continue reading →

The Brooks Cybernic Treatment Center is the only US-based facility offering HAL technology to those with a spinal cord injury. Cybernics is a new academic field that is centered on cybernetics, mechatronics and informatics fused with various other fields including … Continue reading →

Not many people know that in my early 20’s I did a short stint as a broker trainee on the Philadelphia Stock Exchange. Those of you who know me (even a little bit) will understand why this career path didn’t pan out for me. During our lunch breaks, while my peers were hungrily trading their way up the ladder, I was reading ...

Authors: *E. S. ROSENZWEIG, J. H. BROCK, P. LU, H. KUMAMARU, J. L. WEBER, C. A. WEINHOLTZ, R. MOSEANKO, S. HAWBECKER, R. PENDER, C. L. CRUZEN, E. A. SALEGIO,, J. HUIE, C. ALMEIDA, Y. S. NOUT-LOMAS, L. A. HAVTON, A. … Continue reading →

Authors: V. PETROVA, R.EVA, J.W. FAWCETT Lab Abstract: Numerous extracellular and intracellular processes contribute to the failure of long-range regeneration in the adult central nervous system (CNS) after injury. One reason why adult CNS axons have poor regenerative capabilities is … Continue reading →

Authors: Shuxin LI, F.NATHAN, Y.OHTAKE, H.GUO, A.SAMI Lab Abstract: Severed CNS axons fail to regenerate in adult mammals and there are no effective regenerative strategies to treat patients with CNS injuries. Several genes, including PTEN and Krüppel-like factors, regulate intrinsic … Continue reading →

Promising results provide hope for humans suffering from chronic paralysis “Millions of people worldwide are living with chronic spinal cord injuries, with 250,000 to 500,000 new cases each year—most from vehicle crashes or falls. The most severe spinal cord injuries … Continue reading →

We are looking for runners and wheelers interested in joining Team U2FP for the 2019 Bank of America Chicago Marathon. As one of the official charity teams for the Chicago Marathon, we provide guaranteed entries for the race in return for your commitment to fundraise for Spinal Cord Injury Research.

Authors: B. NIEUWENHUIS, R.EVANS, C.S. PEARSON, A.C. BARBER, J. CAVE, P.D. SMITH, J. FUCHS, B.J. EICKHOLT, H.M. GELLER, K.R. MARTIN, R. EVA, J.W. FAWCETT Lab Abstract: Injury to the central nervous system (CNS) has severe consequences because adult CNS axons … Continue reading →

Identifying the most effective types of integration-free human iPS cell-derived neural stem/progenitor cells in the treatment of spinal cord injury Authors: T. IIDA, N. NAGOSHI, J. KOHYAMA, O. TSUJI, M. MATSUMOTO, M. NAKAMURA, H. OKANO Lab Abstract: INTRODUCTION: We have … Continue reading →

Authors: D. GARCIA-RAMIREZ, N. HA, L. YAO, K. A. SCHMIDT, S. F. GISZTER, K. J. DOUGHERTY Lab Abstract: “Neuronal circuitry generating locomotion is located in the thoracolumbar spinal cord. Spinal rhythm generating interneurons (INs) convert descending inputs into rhythmic outputs. … Continue reading →

Spinal implant helps three paralysed men walk again By Pallab Ghosh Science correspondent, BBC News “Three paralysed men, who were told they would spend the rest of their lives in a wheelchair, are able to walk again thanks to doctors … Continue reading →

This is just a quick note to alert you of yet another easy way you can support U2FP. Now through November 2, AmazonSmile is donating 5% (ten times the usual amount) to Unite 2 Fight Paralysis when you shop at this link: smile.amazon.com/ch/20-3528000. It's that simple - just buy what you were already planning to get on Amazon through the above link (or use it as an excuse to justify that impluse-buy you couldn't quite bring yourself to make).

Read about the neuroprosthetic advancement at MEDGADGETS: “Scientists at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland have created a special device to be able to stimulate and record signals from and to peripheral nerve fibers on a specialty … Continue reading →

We did it! Last Wednesday, October 17th, at approximately 8:45pm EST the $1,000,000 Pennsylvania Spinal Cord Injury Research Bill (SB31/HB385) went to the floor of the PA House for a final vote and PASSED into Law!

I can't say it enough - Thank You! I'm incredibly grateful to:
- Our Sponsors. And especially our Title Sponsor, The Rick Hansen Institute - for helping to underwrite this year's Symposium and providing much needed resources to make Working 2 Walk accessible and affordable to the SCI Community.
- Our Presenters. Each of our scientific and advocacy speakers brought a unique perspective to the table, which in turn fueled our table discussions and broadened our ideas of what is ...

Neural Regeneration Research Journal Authors: Philippa Mary Warren, Amanda Phuong Tran, and Jerry Silver, Ph.D. “In our recently co-authored Physiological Reviews manuscript entitled “The biology of regeneration failure and success after spinal cord injury” (Tran et al., 2018b), we sought … Continue reading →

Thanks for reading, all of you who are following from Canada, the USA, the UK, Belgium, India, Italy, Ireland, Israel, Pakistan, and Russia. I hope you found something challenging and useful in these posts; the conference can be challenging, and these little posts barely get at the substance of what happens here, either in terms of... Continue Reading →

David is going through a quick recap of what has been presented since lunch. He says he’d like to open this by talking about funding, especially as it relates to talking about the broken system for paying for rehab. One of the small things we’ve done by way of persuading the government to spend money... Continue Reading →

Thanks, Matthew for the invitation to be here today. I’d like to remind you of the Power of One. We’re all here today because of Marilyn Smith. Her son Noah was injured in 2003, and her response to that is why we’re here. (Applause, amen.) Sarah, Luke, Kylie, James (he shows their pictures, along with... Continue Reading →

Acute Intermittent Hypoxia: A Scientific and Personal Odyssey Take home messages (do them first so we can follow along!) Acute intermittent hypoxia shows great promise to improve many motor functions in chronic sci. Everybody has a role in making this happen. I’m a physical activity guy who was looking for a dream job when I... Continue Reading →

I’ve tried to compress two topics into one talk … first I’m going to talk about training — and you see the small print “in animal models.” We’re starting with Rehab in Rats. Why study this? I want to understand what happens in the nervous system when it uses training to recover. We used to... Continue Reading →

Question: I was talking with one of the women in the ESTAND trial and she was showing me how she uses her phone app to trigger the device. Is this something that could be done w/respect to BB&S? It’s our vision that any of these approaches should come with a good technology that allows you... Continue Reading →

Matt tells a story about a legislative meeting he had during the effort to get funding through the Pennsylvania legislature. He’d just heard the good news that one of the subjects in the Krassioukov trials had recovered the ability to have an orgasm after almost six years post injury. Thinking it would be the sort... Continue Reading →

Matt: Here’s a story for you. U2FP used to have a board member with a C7 injury. His name was Dave, and he was a dedicated quad rugby player. He and I used to talk about how hard it was for him to get his rugby friends to care about research. The light came on... Continue Reading →

The bladder is a very complex system … We look at this (SCI research) as a sort of buffet; there’s lots of things that can help right now. I have patients coming in who think they want to wait for the stem cell treatment that will get them tap dancing, but from my perspective they’re... Continue Reading →

Question: Speaker is outlining a bunch work in this area that’s ongoing in Canada and asking for collaboration with researchers in the USA. Dennis: Fantastic. Question/comment: Kim Anderson herself says that there’s a new survey. It appears that bladder and bowel functionality does impact sexual function. Suggests to Neilsen that scientists can be asked to... Continue Reading →

Thanks for having me here. I’ve been asked to talk, but I’m here to listen. This is a brilliant conference, and we’ll be taking a lot of these lessons back to our own meetings. A lot of what we hear from you does go back to our meetings. I’m going to present some data from... Continue Reading →

Thank you for inviting me — this has been an amazing event. I enjoyed our table conversations yesterday. My background is in neuroscience and I worked on a bunch of technology before going to Neilsen. My goal today is to share some info about the foundation, and to give you some insight into what it’s... Continue Reading →

Matt: Good morning! Most of you came back! (He’s right. The room is just as full today as yesterday, which might be due the wise choice to have us start at 9 instead of 8 … the bar scene went on for a while last night.) Matt: I want to revisit something … it’s so... Continue Reading →

The man himself. He rolls himself up a very steep incline to get to the podium, jokes about how this wouldn’t meet the ADA specs. I’ve been on this journey for a little while, and ultimately I’m incredibly blown away by the evolution … looking back, you would never see a room like this 30... Continue Reading →

Lyn Jakeman will moderate again. This time she’s joined by Brian Kwon, Wolfram Tetzlaff, and Karim Fouad She starts by talking about how the scientific community — having studied regeneration for decades — is in a strange place relative to that focus. Lots of work, lots of time, lots of careers … and not much... Continue Reading →

He can’t hear the first question, blames it on Led Zeppelin in the summer of 1969 … person repeats it: What about improving myelin from dietary changes? (Apparently this is a thing) He says it’s a very good question that needs more study. This makes me slightly crazy. Improving myelin needs more study?! I get... Continue Reading →

Ah, a  German accent … plus, a little mixup in the understanding of the program agenda. I thought I would be talking next to someone talking about cell transplant .. But no. The title of this talk is Locomotor Recovery Following Moderate or Severe Contusive SCI Does Not Require Oligodendrocyte Remyelination. (And that’s not just... Continue Reading →

For 40 years, we’ve been looking at interventions, most of which have failed. Do you have biomarkers for chronic injuries? That’s a hard question … (he says a lot of words that add up to) “We’re not doing very much in that area right now.” (missed the question sorry) What we want to do in... Continue Reading →

He’s a very well-spoken, able-bodied guy — comes across like a man who is used to speaking to people with money, tho’ I probably couldn’t say exactly what I mean by that. Self-assurance is part of it, along with the sense that everything he says has been very, very thoroughly thought through. He welcomes us... Continue Reading →