Spinal Cord Injury Research Techniques Course

The Spinal Cord Injury Techniques Course is an intensive 3 week course held at the Reeve-Irvine Research Center on the University of California, Irvine Campus each July. The course is limited to 18 participants.

The Spinal Cord Injury Research Techniques Course provides intensive, hands-on training to those wishing to learn how to carry out spinal cord injury (SCI) research using animal models. The course is designed for graduate students entering the field, postdoctoral fellows, physicians in training who are interested in academic careers, and active researchers who wish to re-direct their research efforts. The central goal of the course is to educate students in the approaches and techniques that are critical for SCI research.

The course has both lecture and hands-on laboratory sections. Two daily sessions are devoted to current topics, ranging from stem cells to human pathology to gene therapy to robotic rehabilitation. Students participate in interactive sessions with leaders in the field and are given free time for one-on-one conversation. Additional sessions include SCI history and microscopy.

In the laboratory section, students gain hands-on experience with each principal SCI models, including the surgical procedures used to create experimental SCI, post-injury animal care, and functional assessment. Students have an opportunity for direct, personal interactions with experts in the different experimental models and techniques. By course end, students have a sufficient knowledge base to actually begin their own SCI experiments, as well as an extensive SCI research network and support system.

The Spinal Cord Injury Research Techniques Course is sponsored by the Paralysis Project of America and The Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation