UBC Applied Science researchers lead $24 million project to treat spinal cord injury

Read more: apsc.ubc.ca/news/2022/ubc-researchers-lead-24-million-project-to-treat-spinal-cord-injury

The Mend the Gap team recently received $24 million from Canada’s New Frontiers in Research Fund ​2020 Transformation stream to investigate using biomaterials—and soft gels in particular—to heal spinal cord injuries (SCI).

The soft gel will be injected into the site of the injury to serve as a bridge for growing nerve fibres.

“A biomaterials bridge is compatible with other systems and structures in the body and is minimally disruptive,” explains principal investigator Dr. John Madden, a professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science at the University of British Columbia.

“The soft gel that our team plan to use contains tiny magnetic rods that are aligned using an external magnet, creating guide rails that support the nerve fibres to grow in the right direction, eventually crossing the gap.”

Co-principal investigator Dr. Karen Cheung says the project highlights the unique advantages of bringing together medical and engineering knowledge to tackle the complexity of spinal cord injuries.

“Biomedical engineers play a central role in addressing grand challenges in health, because they analyze, interpret, transform and recombine knowledge and information from all of these domains—materials engineering, electrical engineering, neuroscience, chemistry, physics—to generate new technologies and make impactful discoveries,” says Dr. Cheung, a bioengineering professor at UBC’s school of biomedical engineering.

At this point, finding a “cure” for SCI is not the project’s goal as the central nervous system is just too complicated, says Dr. Tetzlaff, adding the key technology needed for this will be developed over the next six years. “Ultimately, we hope to see increased motor function, a longer life span and a better quality of life for SCI patients and their families.”

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