Spinal Cord Society of Australia

History

The Spinal Cord Society Australia (SCSA) is a not-for-profit organisation headquartered in Victoria. We were founded in 1988 as a local branch of the Spinal Cord Society, formed in America in 1978 by Dr Charles Carson. In 1999, the Spinal Cord Society of Australia determined that the best way to make progress towards finding a cure for SCI was to direct funding towards the establishment of local research laboratories here in Australia. This was spearheaded by Dr George Owen and his wife Barbara, who have a son with quadriplegia.

Vision The Spinal Cord Society of Australia’s Vision is to find a cure for Spinal Cord Injury. Mission Our mission is to fund and actively manage a collaborative research effort to achieve functional reconstruction of an injured spinal cord.

 

How are we different?

The Spinal Cord Society of Australia is different from other similar organisations in that we directly control our research effort and focus on those projects and outcomes that will directly contribute to finding a cure for spinal cord injury.

While we agree that rehabilitation is important, we believe that it is necessary to maintain a focus on research that directly impacts our search for a cure. There are many other organisations both here in Australia, and overseas, that cater to this area. We also believe that it is unlikely that there will be one “magic bullet’ or single cure for SCI and therefore we encourage collaborative international research which is aligned with our scientific strategy.

From Laboratory to Bedside We emphasise the need for outcomes that can translate into clinical outcomes rather doing research for research sake

What do we do?

We sponsor research projects at the University of Western Australia, St Vincent’s Hospital Medical Research Institute and the Australian Stem Cell Centre. We accomplish this through public fundraising as well as lobbying government and supporting scientists to apply for government research grants.

SCSA raises funds from both the public and government sectors in order to:

• Invest in research projects which seek a cure for SCI
• Implement a research plan to advance clinical trials as soon as possible.
• Advance these clinical trials with proper ethical considerations and realistic expectations of improved spinal cord function.
• Co-ordinate a forum for spinal cure research
• Provide public education regarding the progress towards finding a cure for SCI.