New Jersey Meets Challenge of Spinal Cord Injury Research

Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation
Wednesday, 12 June 2002

The New Jersey Commission on Spinal Cord Research (NJCSCR) supports research focusing on the development of treatments and cures for spinal cord injuries and diseases that damage the spinal cord.

The New Jersey Commission on Spinal Cord Research (NJCSCR) was established in 1999 to solicit, approve, and administer spinal cord research in New Jersey and to create and maintain a central registry of persons who sustain spinal cord injuries within the State. The Commission is funded by a $1.00 surcharge on all motor vehicle and other traffic violations within the State ($.98 goes to research, $.02 to the administering municipality). The Fund collects approximately $3 million annually. It is particularly interested in targeting postdoctoral fellows and young investigators, and established scientists who are new to spinal cord research. Collaborations with in- and out-of-state colleagues are encouraged.

In its first year, the Commission awarded thirteen grants totaling $2.2 million and it has just announced its second round of 2002 grantees (see below or visit www.state.nj.us/health/spinalcord for more information).

The eleven members of the Commission are appointed by the Governor and include the Commissioner of Health and Senior Services, and one representative each from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey; Rutgers, The State University; the federally designated Spinal Cord Injury Model System; and the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation (CRPF). There are also six public members who are residents of the State and knowledgeable about spinal cord injuries; among them are at least one physician licensed NJ and one individual with a spinal cord injury. CRPF's Executive Vice President and Director of Research, Susan Howley, serves on the Commission and is presently its Chair. She is enthusiastic about the Commission's challenge, viewing it as a unique opportunity to strategically leverage new funding to ramp up spinal cord research in New Jersey's academic institutions and its biomedical and pharmaceutical sectors.

NJCSCR 2002 Grant Recipients

James H. Millonig, Ph.D.
Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine
University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey
Vacuolated Lens (vl) a Mouse Model for Spinal Cord Regeneration - $400,000

Michael P. Matise, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Neuroscience & Cell Biology
University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey - Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Cell-Cycle Regulators Controlling Proliferation and Differentiation of Spinal Neurons - $199,450

Gail Forrest, Ph.D.
Human Performance and Movement Analysis Laboratory
Kessler Medical Rehabilitation Research and Education Corporation
Effect of Body Weight Supported Walking in Incomplete SCI: Physiological and Performance Effects - $141,349

Richard S. Nowakowski, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Neuroscience & Cell Biology
University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey - Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Cell Proliferation in the CNS after Spinal Cord Injury - $147,068

Ronald P. Hart, Ph.D.
W.M. Keck Center for Collaborative Neuroscience
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Sharing and Mining SCI Microarray Data - $240,580

Martin Grumet, Ph.D., Professor
W.M. Keck Center for Collaborative Neuroscience
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Analysis of Cytotoxic Activity Following Spinal Cord Injury - $100,000

Crista L. Adamson, Ph.D.
W.M. Keck Center for Collaborative Neuroscience
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Vaccination Therapies of Rat Spinal Cord Injury - $202,491

Wilma J. Friedman, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
Department of Biological Sciences
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
P75 - Medicated Cell Death After Spinal Cord Injury - $245,218

For more information, or to contact Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation, see their website at: www.christopherreeve.org