Grants Fund Research to Improve Lives of Those with Spinal Cord Injury

Praxis Spinal Cord Institute announces its latest grant recipients

VANCOUVER, BC – July, 2023 – Praxis Spinal Cord Institute is delighted to announce the allocation of more than $4 million in grant awards to support 33 spinal cord injury (SCI) initiatives across Canada. Projects funded involve SCI translational research and innovation in diagnostics and clinical care as well as supporting the implementation of best practices.  This funding supports initiatives by 31 leading researchers that address meaningful priorities to improve quality of life for the SCI community in Canada.

“Praxis plays a major part in translating theory into practical action, improving quality of life for the SCI community. We’re excited to work with our research partners to identify and mobilize clinical best practices across Canada and the world. Acting as a hub, our funding supports a diverse and inclusive portfolio of projects bringing positive impact to clinical and diagnostic care strategies and innovation across the whole SCI pathway.” Bill Barrable, CEO Praxis Spinal Cord Institute

The projects include the continued funding of a National SCI Registry across Canada, SCI resources including a national imaging repository and International SCI Biobank, an international SCI study investigating the clinical management of acute SCI, the development of evidence-based SCI systematic reviews and clinical practice guidelines, and commercialization initiatives.

Supporting initiatives across Canada, this funding accelerates research into clinical best practices and innovation for the SCI community, supporting our vision of a world without paralysis following SCI.

Read the Press Release here


Supplementary Information

  1. Grant-in-aid to support the implementation of the Rick Hansen Spinal Cord Injury Registry (RHSCIR) in Canada
  2. Other Funding Awards

See below:

Grant-in-aid to support the implementation of the Rick Hansen Spinal Cord Injury Registry (RHSCIR) in Canada

Grant RecipientPrincipal Investigator(s)
The University of British ColumbiaMarcel Dvorak
University Health NetworkCathy Craven
The Governors of The University of CalgarySteve Casha
The Governors of the University of AlbertaAdalberto Loyola Sanchez
Regional Health Authority BColleen O’Connell
Nova Scotia Health AuthoritySean Christie
Hamilton Health Sciences CorporationMark Pahuta
Lawson Research InstituteDalton Wolfe
Chris Bailey
Unity Health TorontoHenry Ahn
Regional Health Authority BNajmedden Attabib
Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux Nord-de-l’Île-de-Montréal  Jean-Marc Mac-Thiong
Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux de la Capitale-Nationale Laurent Bouyer
Jerome Paquet
University of SaskatchewanDaryl Fourney
Centre Intégré Universitaire de Santé et de Services Sociaux Nord-de-L’Île-de-MontréalDorothy Barthelemy
Eastern Regional Health AuthorityAndre Engelbrecht
Sunnybrook Research InstituteJeremie Larouche
Ottawa Hospital Research InstituteEve Tsai
Vidya Sreenivasan
University Health NetworkMichael Fehlings
The University of ManitobaPerry Dhaliwal

Other Funding Awards

Grant Title Grant RecipientPrincipal Investigator(s)
Building an Image Bank/Repository Customized Portal Software for BIDs and DICOM Image Data Management with Data Collection ToolThe Governors of The University of CalgaryDavid Cadotte
Building an imaging library of acute traumatic spinal cord injury across Canada: spinal cord and lesion morphometryLa Corporation de L’Ecole Polytechnique de MontréalJulian Cohen-Adad
Building an imaging library of acute traumatic spinal cord injury: a RHSCIR sub-studyThe University of British ColumbiaBrian Kwon
Spinal Cord Injury Research Evidence (SCIRE)The University of British ColumbiaJanice Eng
Developing and Piloting Strategies to Facilitate Implementation of the Canadian Spinal Cord Injury Practice Guideline (Can-SCIP 3 Implementation)University Health NetworkMark Bayley
Cathy Craven 
Expansion of Spinal Cord Injury Implementation and Evaluation Quality Care Consortium (SCI-IEQCC) across CanadaUniversity Health NetworkCathy Craven
2023 Ideation Key Challenge & Health SummitThe Governing Council of the University of TorontoJoseph Ferenbok
Spinal Cord Injury Implementation and Evaluation Quality Care Consortium (SCI-IEQCC) – Edmonton and CalgaryThe Governors of the University of AlbertaAdalberto Loyola-Sanchez
Spinal Cord Injury Implementation and Evaluation Quality Care Consortium (SCI-IEQCC) – Fredericton and Prince Edward IslandRegional Health Authority BColleen O’Connell
Spinal Cord Injury Implementation and Evaluation Quality Care Consortium (SCI-IEQCC) – HalifaxNova Scotia Health AuthoritySonja McVeigh
Grant-in-aid to Support the International Spinal Cord Injury Biobank (ISCIB)The University of British ColumbiaBrian Kwon
Grant to Enhance the Spinal Cord Injury Network of the Atlantic Provinces (SCINAPS)Regional Health Authority BColleen O’Connell
Grant to Establish a Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Primary Care Network to Inform Best Practices and Knowledge TranslationMcMaster UniversityJames Milligan
Joe Lee
The Canadian-American Spinal Cord Perfusion Pressure Monitoring and Biomarker Study (CASPER)The University of British ColumbiaBrian Kwon