Reprinted from...

Vol. 23, No. 1, Spring 2001, p. 7

Manitoba spine
centre wins grants

Major grants have netted University of Manitoba scientists in the Spinal Cord Research Centre more than $4.4 million from Canadian and U.S. funding agencies.

The university centre has received $625,000 per year for five years from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) for its work on working systems in the spinal cord. In addition, it received two major awards from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) of more than $2.3 million.

The Spinal Cord Research Centre is investigating how spinal cord functions are impaired after injury. In many spinal cord injuries, voluntary movement is lost below the level where the spine is damaged. This injury affects basic activities, such as walking and urination.

Spinal cord and nerves, 3/4 view

Larry Jordan, head of the department of physiology, directs the centre. Members of the centre's research group include David McCrea, Susan Shefchyk, and Brian Schmidt. They will be collaborating with Robert Brownstone of Dalhousie University.

Recovery from a spinal cord injury depends on the rescue, recovery, and regeneration of specialized spinal cord cells called propriospinal neurons. Jordan and his associates are planning experiments that use genetically altered mice to investigate these neurons, learn how they function normally, and how normal function can be restored after injury.