Collaboration is at the heart of our work.
Groundbreaking spinal cord injury research requires expertise, shared insight and collective action. By working closely with other charities, research networks, clinicians and advocates, we accelerate progress, reduce duplication, and increase the likelihood that promising discoveries make it into meaningful treatments for people living with paralysis.
Together, we will cure paralysis.
SPARC – The Spinal Cord Injury Research Collaborative
We are proud to have founded SPARC, the Spinal Cord Injury Research Collaborative. This leading UK network is dedicated to driving excellence in clinical research for spinal cord injury. SPARC brings together researchers, clinicians, and advocates to share knowledge, resources and expertise, and to foster partnerships that propel research into impactful clinical breakthroughs. Through regular newsletters, quarterly meetings and an active professional community, SPARC strengthens UK research capacity and supports collaborative problem-solving across institutions and sectors.
Partnership with the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation
Our long-standing partnership with the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation reflects a shared commitment to bridging critical gaps in funding and accelerating the translation of laboratory discoveries into real-world treatments. Together we have launched joint international research calls and awarded multi-million-dollar grants to innovative pre-clinical studies focused on protecting nerve cells, promoting regeneration and restoring key functions after spinal cord injury.
In the most recent awards, Spinal Research contributed to a joint fund of $1.5 million, backing four translational projects aimed at advancing potential therapies through the crucial early stages of development. These strategic awards are designed to overcome barriers between scientific discovery and human clinical trials, ensuring the most promising research has the support it needs to progress
Co-funding with the Medical Research Council
Under the Network of European Funding for Neuroscience Research (Neuron) we are working with the Medical Research Council to fund research in the field of traumatic injury to the central nervous system. Specifically, we are co-funding five international projects in spinal cord injury that promote multidisciplinary work and translational research proposals. Started in 2017, the funding will support projects for three to five years.
Stoke Mandeville Collaboration on Neuropathic Pain Management
We have awarded a grant of £90k to Stoke Mandeville Spinal Research to conduct clinical studies of non-invasive treatments to manage neuropathic pain caused by spinal cord injury.
An estimated two-thirds of people with spinal cord injury suffer chronic pain, which profoundly affects social integration and daily living activities. The study aims to harness expertise nationally, and internationally, into established research protocols for non-invasive magnetic stimulation. The project commenced in 2017 and will run, initially, for three years.
Spinal Injury Charities
Spinal Injuries Together (SIT) consists of five of the UK’s major spinal cord injury charities
Spinal Research
Aspire
BackUp
Spinal Injuries Association
Spinal Injuries Scotland
The group come together to raise awareness of spinal cord injury including medical research, patient care, rehabilitation, social inclusion, independent living and social activity.
Via their own services, each charity engages with people with spinal cord injury, their families and carers, and other supporters, to understand their needs and issues. This learning is then brought together to the group to form the basis for awareness raising campaigns.
This culminates in Spinal Cord Injuries Awareness Day which takes place annually in May.
NHS
Spinal Research is a member of National Institute for Health Research
