# RR&D Gordon Mansfield Spinal Cord Injury Consortium

> **NIH VA I50** · VA SAN DIEGO HEALTHCARE SYSTEM · 2022 · —

## Abstract

This project aims to develop a neural stem cell (NSC) therapy to repair the injured spinal cord
and support functional recovery. In the proposed work, we aim to advance this program to an
IND-enabling stage. Moreover, we aim to continue to develop and optimize potential stem cell
therapies for spinal cord injury (SCI) by examining combinations of innovative rehabilitation and
spinal cord neuromodulation strategies with neural stem cell therapies to potentially amplify
stem cell-mediated recovery of function. Finally, we aim to invest substantial effort to assess
NSC efficacy in chronic SCI.
This work focuses on human NSCs derived from a federally “approved” human embryonic stem
cell (ESC) line, the H9 ESC line. The studies we propose herein will primarily use clinically
relevant spinal cord injury contusion models. Independent replication by an investigator outside
this consortium of scientists will be conducted.
Notably, this is an intensely collaborative effort among leading laboratories researching spinal
cord injury, including the Tuszynski group at the San Diego VA Medical Center and UCSD
(includes Drs. Rosenzweig, Lu and Brock); the Beattie/Bresnahan/Ferguson group at the San
Francisco VA Medical Center and UCSF; the Reinkensmeyer lab at UC Irvine; the Havton lab at
UCLA; the California National Primate Research Center located at UC Davis; and the Courtine
lab at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. Experiments have been collectively designed
and performed by this consortium, an unprecedented effort in SCI research to advance the field
through close collaboration and interaction on jointly performed experiments. Throughout, this
project will benefit from a free exchange of information among the collaborators.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10322642
- **Project number:** 5I50RX001706-08
- **Recipient organization:** VA SAN DIEGO HEALTHCARE SYSTEM
- **Principal Investigator:** MARK H. TUSZYNSKI
- **Activity code:** I50 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** VA
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** —
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2015-07-01 → 2025-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10322642

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10322642, RR&D Gordon Mansfield Spinal Cord Injury Consortium (5I50RX001706-08). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10322642. Licensed CC0.

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