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Welcome to the Learning Lounge
Your place to grab a coffee, sit back and listen to stories from our supporters and first-hand updates from researchers.

Connections magazines
A collection of our biannual online magazines, which include researcher interviews, scientific explainers, fundraising events and more.
Warren Alilain and Chase Taylor on organ dysfunction
Conversations with researchers
Chase and Alilain discuss the impact SCI has on peripheral organs (liver, lungs etc.), and the implications this has for healthcare and quality of life for people living with SCI.
Simone Di Giovanni on regrowing nerves
Conversations with researchers
Professor Simone Di Giovanni discusses his work investigating regeneration of nerve cells following spinal cord injury.
BBC Breakfast: Racing the Tide
62 mile swim around the Isle of Wight
On the morning of 29th August, David and Jess completed the brutal 96km swim around the Isle of Wight in just 26 hours.
Tackling Paralysis with Gavin Wilson
Injured in a mountain biking accident at the age of 14, Gavin Wilson worked with the York City Knights to raise money for life-changing research.
Lifelong rugby league fan, Gavin has teamed up with his local club to raise money and awareness for Spinal Research in a home fixture against local rivals Halifax Panthers on 22nd May.
Read more about Tackling Paralysis here.
Professor James Fawcett
Head of the Department of Neurosciences at the University of Cambridge
An interview covering Prof Fawcett's career, his ground-breaking work on spinal cord injury research, the current obstacles in the field and what to expect next.
Clinical Trials for SCI + Q&A
I-OSCIRS 2021 Closing Session
Dr. Jim Guest of University of Miami and The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis leads the concluding session and will give us an overview of clinical trials for SCI.
Dr. Karim Fouad from University of Alberta and Dr. Kristine Cowley from University of Manitoba also join us for a discussion panel after the talk.
The History of Spinal Cord Injury Research
I-OSCIRS 2021 Opening Session
Dr. Karim Fouad of the University of Alberta leads this introductory session and gives us an overview of the history of spinal cord injury research.
Spinal Research Learning Session 1
A series of Zoom calls attended by our current fundraisers who wish to learn more about Spinal Research.
Hear from our CEO Harvey Sihota, learn about recent research development from Dr Jessica Kwok and understand more about living with an SCI from our great ambassador Bel Young.
Paul Fairhurst
10 years after suffering a spinal cord injury Paul Fairhurst walked 10 miles to raise 10k for charity.
A decade after a cycling accident left him paralysed in a roadside gutter in Singapore, Paul covered 10 miles of the Jurassic Coast on the 29th of June in just one day - a huge challenge for someone still living with the consequences of his accident. Paul exceeded his intended target of £10,000 by raising over £15,000! Listen to his story here.
Dr Jessica Kwok and Bel Young
Treating Paralysis By Targeting The Inhibitory CSPG Molecule
Our ambassador Bel Young speaks to Dr Jessica Kwok about treatments for chronic spinal cord injury, looking at how chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPGs) prevent new connections being formed in the injured spinal cord and the research aiming to overcome it.
I-OSCIR Seminar
Scientific Research for a Non-Scientific Audience
Caitlin E. Hill, PhD: Targeting and testing therapies for spinal cord injury repair
Chet Moritz, PhD: Non-invasive stimulation to improve function after SCI
David Magnuson, PhD: Everything matters: changing the trajectory of recovery after spinal cord injury.
Are you a supporter or researcher with a story to tell?
If you want to share your story with us, please contact info@spinal-research.org