UQ research with the potential to develop improved treatment options for spinal cord injuries has received funding for four years from SpinalCure Australia.
Dr Marc Ruitenberg from UQ's School of Biomedical Sciences has been awarded a prestigious Career Development Fellowship to support ongoing research into the inflammatory response to spinal cord injury.
“There is overwhelming evidence that the inflammatory response to spinal cord injury is a double-edged sword," Dr Ruitenberg said.
"Some aspects can cause additional damage while others appear to be contributing to tissue repair.
“Our ultimate research goal is to understand which aspects of the inflammatory process worsen injury outcomes, to enable the development of new and effective anti-inflammatory therapies that can improve recovery.”
Dr Ruitenberg’s laboratory is concentrating on the innate immune system because of the dominant role that it is thought to play in the inflammatory pathology associated with spinal cord injury.
He is also actively involved in the development of ultra-high field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques to study the injured spinal cord and to aid better translation of promising research findings from the laboratory bench to the clinic.
This fellowship is a major boost to the research activities in Dr Ruitenberg's laboratory and will accelerate the development of better treatment options for spinal cord injury.
The award is being funded in partnership with The University of Queensland for 2012-2015.
Media: UQ School of Biomedical Sciences, Avril Johnston-Craig, 07 3365 1536, 0408 160 784, a.johnstoncraig@uq.edu.au
