The Live Wire

Translational Science

Spinal Research is embarking on a major new initiative – the Translational Initiative – designed to accelerate the progress of promising clinical treatments, to promote basic and clinical collaboration in the UK and to ensure that spinally injured people in the UK have the opportunity to participate in future clinical trials. Intense analysis has identified the strategic elements which will have the greatest impact in translation science from the laboratory to the hospital.

The Translational Initiative will:

• strengthen the pre-clinical pipeline of treatments for SCI
• facilitate more productive interaction between basic and clinical research, and
• prepare the UK for forthcoming clinical trials of treatments for SCI.


As part of its strategy, Spinal Research is committed to establishing a dedicated centre, or group of specialised centres, devoted to SCI research, thus achieving economies of scale through sharing of resources. Benefits will be delivered to people living with SCI by means of

• a grant scheme to encourage academics and their partners to undertake translational projects;
• one or more centres of research excellence to act as a focal point for basic, translational and clinical research in SCI;
• a patient registry and clinical trials network through existing spinal injury centres in the UK

A new funding stream for translational research and development has been launched and initial grants are being awarded in 2009-10.

Project grants will be made to support the translation from laboratory to clinic of genuinely promising new treatments for spinal cord injury. With its funding, Spinal Research plans to bring these treatments to readiness for studies with human patients and potentially for clinical trials with paralysed volunteers.

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