Uni receives $5m donation to fuel spinal cord recovery and neural restoration research

UC San Diego has received US$5m for a new initiative focused on spinal cord recovery and neural restoration.

The anonymous donation will fund the newly launched Spinal Therapeutics, Engineering, Limb and Life Advancement (STELLA) Initiative.

The programme will bring together scientists, engineers, clinicians and other specialists to accelerate research and clinical translation for spinal cord injuries and related neurological conditions.

Its work will combine regenerative science, precision surgical delivery, bioelectric medicine and advanced diagnostics, with the aim of developing treatments that may one day improve function, mobility and quality of life.

The initiative will be led by Alexander A. Khalessi, professor and chair of neurological surgery at UC San Diego School of Medicine, chief innovation officer at UC San Diego Health and assistant vice chancellor for innovation in UC San Diego Health Sciences.

Khalessi said: “Patients and their families are our inspiration in neurosurgery.

“With world-class neuroscience and engineering partners at UC San Diego, we are making determined progress in our technical approaches to the most challenging neurological diseases.”

Spinal cord injuries can affect movement, sensation, strength and other bodily functions below the injury because the spinal cord carries signals between the brain and body.

Physical and occupational therapy can support people with spinal cord injuries, but there is no definitive treatment that reverses paralysis or fully restores lost function.

STELLA will build on UC San Diego’s work involving stem cell-based therapies, biomaterial scaffolds, neural interface technologies, advanced imaging and surgical techniques.

Researchers plan to develop approaches that take account of the severity, location, timing and biological characteristics of individual injuries.

The initiative will initially focus on three areas: intelligent diagnostics and targeted therapeutics, personalised regeneration and precision delivery.

The first will develop technologies to map injury areas more accurately and guide localised treatments, including neuromodulation designed to activate and repair specific motor circuits.

Personalised regeneration will explore patient-specific treatments, including using a patient’s own cells to develop neural cells tailored to their injury.

Precision delivery will focus on surgical and minimally invasive methods intended to deliver therapies safely and effectively to the injury site.

The funding will also support early research projects, data science and predictive modelling, as well as clinical trials and precision medicine programmes involving paediatric and adult patients.

It will support work on manufacturing standards for devices and biological therapies intended to help move potential treatments from laboratory research into clinical use.