The Reeve Foundation hosted its 3rd bi-annual Spinal Cord Symposium on May 9-11, 2008 in Atlanta, GA. Over 165 people attended the meeting  which included  the Foundation's active individual research grant recipients, additional invited scientists, members of the spinal cord injury community (patients, caregivers, family), and members of the Foundation's Board of Directors and Science Advisory Council.

Meet Jack and Paula! Two parents share about their lives with SCI kids. (WATCH THE VIDEO)

Learn More! Watch a slide show from the 2008 SCI Symposium.

The meeting provided a  unique opportunity for dialogue between researchers and the spinal cord injury community. It also fostered opportunities to establish new collaborations that will be funded through small network grants which are available to Symposium scientists.

Sharing Information
Friday evening began with a special lecture on SCI, presented by Dr. Michael Fehlings, a neurosurgeon and scientist at the University of Toronto.  Dr. Fehlings is an expert on issues relating to neuroprotection following spinal cord injury (by preventing cells from dying) and is a member of our Science Advisory Council and North American Clinical Trials Network. The evening concluded with a wonderful reception where everybody got a chance to meet and greet.

Saturday was a big day, beginning with a general session focusing on secondary complications related to SCI (e.g., pain, sexual function, accessibility and bladder function).   Four scientists each made a short presentation and then answered questions from the audience.  This session was moderated by Dr. Jacqueline Bresnahan, who is a longtime member of our Science Advisory Council and co-chair of this year’s Symposium.

Up Close and Personal
The general session was followed by a poster session coupled with a coffee break. We used food to direct people to the right places (it's a pretty fool-proof method). What's a scientific poster? A poster is a compilation of data/figures/text that summarizes a research project.  We had  three formal poster sessions when scientists would stand in front of their posters (each are about  8 feet wide X 4 feet high )  to answer questions about the project.  However, all posters were displayed during the entire meeting so people could wander about and view when they had time.  No matter how many poster sessions we schedule for a meeting, the scientists always want more.  This is the time and place where they get down to business.

The poster sessions were followed by small chalk talks.  Chalk talks are less formal than general sessions and are very interactive.  The chalk talks challenge scientists to present their ideas in new ways because the only media we gave them was a clean whiteboard and markers.  No slides.  No PowerPoint.  It's basically a classroom in size and character.  Approximately 25-30 people gathered in any given chalk talk and then the dialogue began.   It's really nice to be able to organize small group discussions like these chalk talks - they're extremely educational for the both the scientist and layman – and a chance for everyone to really interact and ask the tough questions.

Exploring the Problems
Saturday afternoon featured a Town Hall meeting where  the community took the lead and talked to our scientists. It began with Dr. Sandra Kostyk from The Ohio State University interviewing three people with injuries - a female paraplegic, a male quadriplegic and a male ventilator-dependent quadriplegic.  She elicited case histories from them, which served as a springboard to an open dialogue about life with a spinal cord injury.  The Town Hall is dynamic - it's a forum where anything can be discussed and anything can be asked . The goal of this session, one of the highlights of the weekend, is to help scientists think about their research in terms of the realities of daily life with a spinal cord injury.

The Problems with Pain
Dr. Allan Basbaum, from the University of California, San Francisco, presented an amazing overview about pain on Saturday evening. He explained to the audience that there are a number of mechanisms which contribute to pain following an injury, including a loss of signals that normaly inhibit  but now increase it in ways difficult to treat. However, he was very enthusiastic about the future of pain research and expects important breakthroughs in the near future. Dinner followed, as did the enthusiastic conversation among all of our guests.

Focusing on the Minuscule
Sunday morning once again featured a general session  - this time focused on molecules involved in neuronal regeneration and rehabilitation.  Moses Chao, the chair of our Science Advisory Council moderated the session  and led a very interactive question and answer period.  The meeting wrapped up with a poster session and  more  chalk talks.

Sounds like a lot to do in 42 hours, but every single person in attendance left the meeting energized, enthusiastic and with a deeper understanding and appreciation of SCI research and what living with an SCI really entails.

Learn More! Watch a slide show from the 2008 SCI Symposium .