CureCast

Courtesy of Unite 2 Fight Paralysis

CSRO is the Canadian Voice of the Cure

“They elevated themselves by their own self-education on these things. And then it became very clear that you weren’t going to mess with these people, because they knew exactly what you were talking about – and they knew exactly what they were talking about.”

– Dr. Anthony Fauci, NIAID Director (from the film “How to Survive a Plague”, 2012, directed by David France)

Dr. Karim Fouad is a Professor of Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Alberta and Canada Research Chair for Spinal Cord Injury. Kate and Matthew talk with Karim about how he ended up in this field and the more recent research that he has been involved with: the discovery of pericytes and their role in inhibiting blood flow after injury and what might be done about that; the potential for inciting a controlled inflammatory response to open a window for recovery after injury; and Karim’s ideas for improving the translation of science to clinical relevance.
Check it Out. As always, please write to us with your questions, suggestions and critiques at curecast@u2fp.org


Matthew and Kate interview Tiffiny Carlson, from Minneapolis, MN. Tiffiny has been writing and blogging about spinal cord injury for many years. She now has a new podcast (True Wheelchair Life: SCI Life Uncovered). We talk about how she developed her career as a writer and advocate, her new podcast, and how she views changes within the SCI community as it relates to the Cure Movement.


Our latest CureCast interview features Dr. David Magnuson from the The University of Louisville’s Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center. Kate and Matthew talk with him about his research, specifically about the Central Pattern Generator and its provocative implications for recovery potential, rehab, exercise and more.
David is willing to answer any questions our listeners may have – here’s his email address: david.magnuson@louisville.edu.


Check out this great discussion Kate and Matthew have with Dr. Nicholas Jeffery from Texas A & M. We talked with Dr. Jeffery about the recent clinical trial for paralyzed dogs using chondroitinase along with his future work. After you listen to our interview, go take a look at his presentation from Working 2 Walk 2015.


If we’re working from a 17th century model of publishing science, then what effect does that have on translating science to clinical relevance? Kate and I had a mind expanding conversation (for laypeople) around this idea with Dr. Adam Ferguson, Professor and Principal Investigator at the Brain and Spinal Injury Center at UCSF. You may have already seen his fascinating presentation at Working 2 Walk this past year, “Big Data Analytics: Bringing Dark Data to Light for Enhancing Discovery and Translation in Spinal Cord Injury“. We tried to unpack some of the ideas and possibilities that came from that presentation.


We have a great conversation with Kelsey Peterson and Maddie Brown – creators of the documentary-in-progress: The Cure Map. This is a must-listen for those in the community still trying to figure out how to contribute to our movement. After our interview with them, Kate Willette told me: “that was my favorite interview we’ve done so far!” You won’t want to miss it.


In this episode of CureCast, we talk with Dr. Jerry Silver from Case Western Reserve University in Ohio. It’s a great conversation about his long-standing work to promote regeneration after spinal cord injury. He’s had some exciting recent results which we talk about and which you can also see in his presentation at Working 2 Walk.check out the latest SCI CureCast with Dr. Jerry Silver from Case Western Reserve University in Ohio. It’s a great conversation about his long-standing work to promote regeneration after spinal cord injury. He’s had some exciting recent results which we talk about in some depth.


Dr. Sasha Rabchevsky is a Professor of Physiology and a Research Scientist in the Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Center at the University of Kentucky School of Medicine. Sasha also lives with paralysis from a spinal cord injury.


A conversation with Dr. Michael Lane from Drexel University’s College of Medicine.


Kate and Matthew interview New Mobility magazine’s Senior Editor Ian Ruder. We discuss his role, the history of the publication and how SCI research fits into the story.


Kate and Matthew interview longtime SCI writer, blogger, journalist and advocate Sam Maddox. Sam was a correspondent for Time, Money and People magazine and a former journalism professor at the University of Colorado – Boulder. His latest project is a publication called, First 90 Days to assist people in getting the best information at the time of injury.


In this conversation, Matthew and Kate talk with Donna Sullivan, U2FP’s Special Projects Director and Chris Powell, U2FP’s Research Consultant. We discuss their entry into SCI advocacy, what they do at U2FP and the planning for the 2017 Working 2 Walk Science and Advocacy Symposium in Miami.


We discuss the work Chet is doing at UW and the Center for Neuro Sensorimotor Engineering…including a collaboration with NeuroRecovery Technologies and Reggie Edgerton. And we discuss some of the exciting news out of Washington state related to U2FP’s Cure Advocacy Network.

As a supplement, Chet discusses the collaboration with Reggie Edgerton and NeuroRecovery Technologies. To find out more about NRT, check out the video presentation from Nick Terrefranca (CEO at NRT) at Working 2 Walk 2016 in Minneapolis.



Kate and Matthew talk about the history of the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, the Schwann Cell human clinical trial and the upcoming Working 2 Walk Symposium in Miami.


Kate and Matthew talk with Australian advocate Perry Cross. We talk about his injury, his foundation: Perry Cross Spinal Research Foundation and some of the issues around stem cell tourism.


Kate and Matthew talk with Lee Thibeault about the process of participating in clinical trials.  Lee was one of the first individuals from the SCI community to participate in the early clinical trials of Stem Cell Inc. He talks candidly about his experience, its effects and the importance of participating in clinical trials to further the science to cure paralysis.


Marilyn, Kate and Matthew discuss the complicated research processes targeting the replacement and incorporation of neurons into the injured spinal cord. How do these replacement strategies fit into an already wired and connected system? And how can they be coaxed to graft into the existing system and actually work? Join the conversation with your comments by emailing us at curecast@u2fp.org


A conversation with Leon Ford from Pittsburgh and Kate Chalfin from Philadelphia and their efforts to pass SCI research funding bill as a part of U2FP’s Cure Advocacy Network …



Don’t let the title scare you. We deconstruct the science and help you answer this question.


Kate, Matthew & Marilyn explore the world of Oligodendrocytes and then talk about recent news and rumors about the ongoing Asterias Biotherapeutics trial.


In this episode, Kate and Matthew ask the seemingly simple question that takes on complex meaning for many different members of the SCI Community. Check it out and then drop us a note at curecast@u2fp.org.


Our inaugural episode!