Five of the world’s leading spinal cord researchers will talk about the latest advances in their field this Friday at The University of Queensland.
As part of a symposium Frontiers of Spinal Cord Research, hosted by UQ Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) in association with SpinalCure Australia, the eminent scientists will deliver talks on work such as aiming to regenerate spinal cords that have been damaged in accidents.
Professor Perry Bartlett, director of the QBI and a world leader in brain research, will introduce the speakers as well as present the findings of his own breakthrough research.
The speakers are Professor James Fawcett, Chairman of the Cambridge Centre for Brain Repair, Cambridge University; Professor John Steeves, Director of the International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries, The University of British Columbia; and Professor Alain Privat, Dr Manuel Gaviria and Dr Helene Hirbec from the Institut des Neurosciences de Montpellier in France.
Professor James Fawcett: Professor Fawcett is chairman of the Cambridge University Centre for Brain Repair and director of medical studies at King’s College. He qualified as a physician at St Thomas’ Hospital and became a full-time researcher after four years of clinical practice. His main research interest is in nerve fibre regeneration in which inhibitory molecules in scar tissue block regeneration after spinal cord injury. He has been responsible for experiments showing that the enzyme chondroitinase can break down inhibitory molecules in scar tissue and allow nerve fibre regeneration and functional recovery after spinal cord injury.
Professor John Steeves: In 1995 Professor Steeves founded CORD, the Collaboration On Repair Discoveries, the first interdepartmental research group at the University of British Columbia focused on clinical and discovery research directed to spinal cord injuries. CORD has evolved into a world-wide project (ICORD) involving hundreds of investigators across Canada and beyond. He also directs the Rick Hansen Spinal Cord Injury Network. A Canada-wide network of clinicians and scientists working to facilitate the introduction of interventions that will improve the recovery and quality of life of people with these types of injuries. His research has focused on the mechanisms essential to facilitate functional repairs after central nervous system damage that occurs with spinal cord and brain injuries. He is recognized as a pioneer for his detailed characterizations of the pathways from the brain to the spinal cord that are important for controlling movement, as well as being a world leader in charting the intrinsic repair capacities of the developing spinal cord.
Professor Alain Privat: Initially trained as a neuropathologist, for the past 30 years he has researched CNS plasticity. In the INSERM lab he created and led since 1989, he has collected important evidence concerning the complementary roles of neuronal and glial cells both under physiological and pathological conditions. Using a multidisciplinary approach, he has applied some of these fundamental findings to different acute and degenerative models of CNS disease. Professor Privat has developed a wide range of collaborations with leading scientists and private charities in the field of neurotrauma and neurodegenerative diseases. He has held Professor Positions in Neuroscience at different French Universities (Paris VI, Paris XI, and Montpellier). Since 1989, he is visiting Professor for The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, and is the Vice-President of the Institute for Developmental Neuroscience of Aging in Denver. He is currently an official expert for the French state office for disabled people.
Dr Manuel Gaviria: For the past 10 years he has focused his research towards the understanding of the cellular and molecular origins of sensorimotor deficits. Between 1997 and 2002 he held a position of team leader in the Laboratory of Clinical Neurophysiology and in the Laboratory of Experimental Neurosurgery of the Spinal Unit Propara in Montpellier. During the past five years, he has successfully contributed to develop innovative technologies for non-invasively studying the pathophysiological changes that follow a CNS injury. With any doubt these powerful tools will greatly help bridging the gap to the clinics. Dr Gaviria regularly gives lectures in Neuroscience at the Universities of Montpellier, Paris V and Paris XI. He is also involved in different national commissions aimed at improving the emergency care offered to patients with spinal cord injury.
The symposium will be held at The Queensland Bioscience Precinct Auditorium (Level 3, Building 80), at UQ from 2-5pm, Friday, September 17. Anyone wishing to attend the symposium can contact Shani Doig at the QBI by email: s.doig@uq.edu.au or telephone 07 3346 8817.
Media: For more information contact Andrew Dunne at UQ Communications (telephone 3365 2802 or 0405 186 732).
