AMAP ANNUAL MEETING 2019 
SEPT 29, 30, OCT 1
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Injuries and diseases of the spinal cord can lead not only to complete or partial paralysis, but to pain, problems with speech and breathing, and loss of important functions such as bladder control.

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 the Brain Repair Centre, these researchers and colleagues outside Nova Scotia have formed the Atlantic Mobility Action Project (Mobility 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.

Researchers:

• 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
• Jason McDougall, understanding and treating arthritis pain
• David Westwood, visual attention and control of arm movements
• Sean Christie, spinal surgery
• Adrienne Weeks, brain surgery
• Janie Astephen Wilson, gait and neuromuscular activation in knee osteoarthritis
• Colleen O'Connell, managing pain and spasticity for improved function
• Christine Short, managing pain and spasticity for improved function
• Shaun Boe, optimizing results of motor deficit treatments
• Jeremy Brown, pioneering new neurosurgery devices
• John Frampton, engineering neural tissues

Sean Christie, spinal cord injury and complex spinal surgeries