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It was about safety and being able to contribute back to society.” Nate says assumptions about what he is capable of are something he often encounters. He is especially proud of being awarded a Neurological Foundation Doctoral Scholarship as it challenges those assumptions. “It’s a chance to represent others living with disability and spinal cord injury, and to showwhat is possible,” he says. “Just because we have a condition or an injury doesn’t mean we can’t go and do. This is proof of going and doing.” Although he prefers to concentrate on his research, Nate recognises the importance of being visible and sharing his research with others. “I like hiding away in the lab,” he laughs. “Sometimes that’s all I want to do. Then there’s the complete opposite side of me where I’m like, actually, no. I do need to be a bit of a role model.” Last year, Nate presented the results from his Master’s research at the NZ Spinal Cord Injury Symposium: Talk theWalk. Afterwards, several attendees approached him to ask what it was like to work in a research laboratory after sustaining a spinal cord injury himself. “I don’t want anyone else to have to go through this,” he says. “But if they do, I want them to know they can still work, contribute, and be a part of society.” Looking ahead, Nate is already planning to present his research at international spinal cord injury conferences in 2027 and 2028. Even attending conferences requires careful planning, from organising accessible travel to arranging a support person. This year, he will attend New Zealand’s largest neuroscience conference in Christchurch, which will help him work through the logistics of travelling overseas to share his research further afield. Nate has also discovered a passion for teaching. For the past three years he has been working as a teaching assistant in physiology and anatomy, which he says is another opportunity to challenge assumptions and show students that disability is no barrier to a career in science. Nate says he is extremely grateful to the Neurological Foundation for believing in him and his research. The scholarship has given him the opportunity to lead his own research project for the first time, something he describes as both rewarding and empowering. “The more independent you can be, the more autonomy or control you have. And that’s something, as a disabled person, you strive for.” Targeting support cells to improve spinal cord repair Most people are familiar with the role of neurons in the brain and spinal cord, but less well understood are glial cells. Found in similar numbers to neurons in the central nervous system (around 86 billion), these support cells are essential for maintaining and protecting the health of our neurons. Glial cells are increasingly being studied for their role in neurological disease. In the case of spinal cord injury, glial cells are activated and will rush to the injury site to help repair damaged tissue. However, Nate explains, this response can become excessive and cause more harm than good. For instance, glial cells can form scar tissue around the injury, creating a barrier that prevents damaged nerve fibres from repairing and reconnecting. Glial cells can also drive excessive inflammation, releasing chemicals that damage nearby healthy neurons and cause the injury to worsen over time. Nate’s research will investigate the role of a protein called Bach2, which appears to influence the behaviour of glial cells. Levels of Bach2 have been shown to increase following spinal cord injury. “Bach2 has not been well studied within the central nervous system or glial cells. There is a gap in our understanding of its role in the brain and spinal cord,” Nate says. “We know Bach2 controls inflammation in other cell types, and it appears to regulate the response of glial cells to injury.” This raises the possibility that targeting Bach2 could regulate how glial cells respond after spinal cord injury, reducing secondary damage to neurons and improving recovery. To test this, Nate will grow glial cells in the lab using both rodent and human stem cells. He will then increase and decrease levels of Bach2 to understand how the protein influences their response to injury. He will then expose the cells to conditions that mimic spinal cord injury, measuring how changes in Bach2 affect inflammation, cell survival and repair. “I believe this has the potential to inform treatment for spinal cord injury and make a real difference for people who experience this life-changing injury.” At age four, he had emergency surgery after his neck began collapsing and compressing the nerve that controlled his breathing. At age 12, with his spine once again collapsing, he underwent surgery to stabilise it. Without the operation, he faced almost certain paralysis or death. “Without it, the odds for me were worse, and if I was going to pass away I’d rather it was under anaesthetic,” Nate says pragmatically. “It’s a practicality that my sister and I have always had to have. There was no real alternative so it was just another hospital necessity,” he says. When Nate woke from surgery, he couldn’t move his legs. The operation had resulted in a spinal cord injury. After months of rehabilitation and relearning how to walk again, Nate mostly recovered from the spinal cord injury. However, he still experiences complications from the injury which are compounded by the diastrophic dysplasia. During his years atWhangārei Boys’ High School, he often spent more time out of the classroom than in it. During Year 13 alone, Nate travelled to Auckland almost weekly after complications from reconstructive foot surgery, often returning to school still recovering from repeated anaesthesia. His experiences in hospital inspired him to pursue medicine as a career, and despite months away from school for surgery and recovery, Nate was made Deputy Head Boy. He achieved NCEA Level 3 with Excellence endorsement, and earned a University of Auckland Top Achiever Scholarship. Originally intending to become a medical doctor, Nate discovered research could have just as much impact after taking a second-year paper taught by leading spinal cord injury researcher Dr Simon O’Carroll. “I emailed him (Simon) and said, ‘Hey, I’m a person in a wheelchair. Is it possible for me to do a summer internship?” Simon welcomed him into the lab. What began as a summer internship grew into a Master’s project investigating spinal cord injury, and now a Neurological Foundation-funded PhD under Simon’s supervision. Nate believes his lived experience gives him a unique perspective as a spinal cord injury researcher. “When you’ve lived through a spinal cord injury yourself, there are things you understand that you can’t learn from a textbook.” However, working in a laboratory brings practical challenges. Nate uses a specially adapted wheelchair to navigate the university and lab environments, and to reduce the risk of damaging his spine. Standard laboratory benches are designed for standing researchers, so Nate relies on a specialised wheelchair that raises him to bench height. Securing that equipment wasn’t straightforward. As he prepared to leave high school, funding for the adjustable wheelchair was initially questioned because it was not considered necessary for university study. “We had to explain it would help me work in the lab, as well as allowme to cook my own meals, and live independently,” he says. “It wasn’t just about education. Nathaniel and colleague Dr Akshata Anchan at the Centre for Brain Research in Auckland. “I like hiding away in the lab. Sometimes that’s all I want to do. Then there’s the complete opposite side of me where I’m like, actually, no. I do need to be a bit of a role model.” 4 Headlines 5 Headlines