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First steps toward TREATMENTS FOR SPINAL CORD INJURY There is no cure for spinal cord injury. For the thousands of people in Aotearoa living with paralysis after an accident or injury, the message has long been the same: the damage is permanent. But that may be beginning to change. A t the University of Auckland, Dr Bruce Harland and Dr Brad Raos are part of a team developing bioelectronic implants to help people regain movement and sensation after spinal cord injury. Both the Catwalk Trust and the Neurological Foundation supported the early development of the bioelectronic implant. The team has received more than $730K in funding from the Neurological Foundation. The work is now largely funded by the Catwalk Cure Programme – a large, collaborative effort based at the University of Auckland’s Centre for Brain Research to develop new treatments for spinal cord injury. The story of Bruce and Brad’s work shows how two charities can build on each other’s strengths: Neurological Foundation support allowed them to explore bold, early-stage ideas, while the CatWalk Trust, a charity dedicated to funding support and research for spinal cord injury, has since expanded that research into a full-scale programme aimed at real-world recovery. We catch up with Bruce and Brad about their latest work and what’s next for advancing new treatments for spinal cord injury. Recreating spinal injury in a dish Brad’s Neurological Foundation First Fellowship in 2019 provided the springboard for his ongoing role within the CatWalk Cure Programme at the University of Auckland. A bioengineer, he works at the intersection of technology and neuroscience, designing technologies that can repair and monitor recovery in the spinal cord. Dr Brad Raos © Catwalk Trust 14 Headlines