Restoring function and mobility in people with diseases or injuries.

Atlantic Mobility Action Project

Dalhousie University is home to a large group of spinal cord researchers. Together, they aim to restore function and mobility in people with diseases or injuries that affect their spinal cord. These researchers — who include neurosurgeons, neurobiologists, electrophysiologists, physiatrists, and physiotherapists — are learning how neurons develop, specialize and form neural networks to control movement and other functions, how the nervous system responds and adapts to illness and injury, and how function and movement can be preserved, restored and/or rehabilitated after an illness or injury.

In addition to their affiliation with our centre, these researchers and colleagues outside Nova Scotia have formed the Atlantic Mobility Action Project to strengthen their collaborative efforts to restore mobility and important functional abilities to people whose nervous systems have been damaged by injury or disease.

Angelo Iulianella
— neural and spinal cord development

James Fawcett
— neuron & synapse development, spinal cord control of movement

Ying Zhang
— electrophysiological properties of neurons

Victor Rafuse
— stem cell therapies for movement disorders

Turgay Akay
— neural networks and control of locomotion

Corey Baimel
- Neural circuits and neuromodulation

Jason McDougall
— understanding and treating arthritis pain

Sean Christie
— spinal surgery

Colleen O'Connell
— managing pain and spasticity for improved function

Christine Short
— managing pain and spasticity for improved function

John Frampton
— engineering neural tissues

Zhenyu Cheng
- bacterial infection, neurodegenerative diseases

Janie Wilson
— knee osteoarthritis development and progression

Adam Johnston
— stem cells and tissue regeneration, neuromuscular repair

Joel Ross (UPEI)
— gene regulation and human brain cell development

Chris McGibbon (UNB)
— Age related disorders of the musculoskeletal system

Nicanor Gonzalez-Morales
— Cell Biology, Muscles, Drosophila

Francesca di Cara
- neuroinflammation, gut- brain axis, Drosophila

AMAP RESEARCHERS

AMAP 2026

Watch this space for info on AMAP 2026

Guest Speakers at AMAP over the years

Dr. Vivian K. Mushahwar

University of Alberta
“Tapping into Spinal Networks to Restore Mobility after Spinal Cord Injury”
Dr. Tim Kennedy

McGill University
“Making connections: guiding synaptic plasticity in the CNS”
Viviane Poupon, PhD

President & CEO, Brain Canada
"Engaging researchers from across Canada: Spotlight on Nova Scotia"
Dr. Sten Grillner

Karolinska Institute (Stockholm)
“The Logics of Networks in Motion - from Microcircuits to Integrative Function”
Dr. Réjean Dubuc

Université du Québec a Montréal
“Brainstem control of locomotion”
Dr. Tim Bredy

University of Queensland
”RNA in Neuroscience”
Dr. Colin Franz

Northwestern University
”Diaphragm Dysfunction and Phrenic Nerve Injuries in COVID-19 Patients and Beyond: An Opportunity for Reverse Clinical Translation”
Dr. Arlette Kolta

Université de Montréal
“Astrocytes-dependent modulation of neuronal firing: role in sensori-motor integration in trigeminal circuits involved in pain and rhythmic movements”
Dr. David Bennett

University of Alberta
“Presynaptic facilitation in rats and humans: a new role for GABA: Part I”
Dr. Monica Gorassini

University of Alberta
“Presynaptic facilitation in rats and humans: a new role for GABA: Part II”
Dr. Francesco Roselli

University of Ulm (Germany)
“Understanding Mesoscale Non-Cellautonomous Processes in ALS