It began six years ago when Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine professor Karim Fouad, PhD, decided to spearhead a meeting, inviting clinicians and scientists in spinal cord injury (SCI). The plan was to bring ideas together from all stages of research-from the bench to the bedside. It started off rather small but this year, the conference titled Treatment strategies for SCI: from biology to clinical reality brought 85 experts in SCI to the Banff Centre on April 20. Among them were big names in SCI such as Dr. Charles Tator, Dr. Michael Fehlings and Drs. Arthur Prochazka and Richard Stein from the University of Alberta.
"It was a huge success and I'm very grateful for the support of scientists, clinicians and various groups in the community," says Fouad. The two-and-a-half-day conference was supported by the Rick Hansen Institute, Alberta Paraplegic Association, Alberta Innovates, Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation, University of Alberta, Hotchkiss Brain Institute (University of Calgary), the Centre for Neuroscience (U of A) and the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine (U of A).
Many topics were covered at the conference, from inflammation and secondary damage to stem cell therapies and critieria for initiating clinical trials. Special guest speaker Dr. Phillip Popovich presented on Manipulating microglia and macrophages to promote recovery after spinal cord injury.
"We will continue our conferences and gather experts in SCI to share ideas and continue discussions to further research in this field," Fouad says. The next conference is anticipated to be held in Halifax.
Photos provided by Karim Fouad
The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of Health Canada.
About the University of Alberta Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine
As the only free standing faculty of rehabilitation in Canada, the University of Alberta Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine balances its activities among learning, discovery and citizenship (including clinical practice). A research leader in musculoskeletal health, spinal cord injuries and common spinal disorders (back pain), the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine aims to improve the quality of life of citizens in our community. The three departments, Occupational Therapy (OT), Physical Therapy (PT) and Speech Pathology and Audiology (SPA) offer professional entry programs. The Faculty offers thesis-based MSc and PhD programs in Rehabilitation Science, attracting students from a variety of disciplines including OT, PT, SLP, psychology, physical education, medicine and engineering.