# SCI Consortium Study: 3D Printed Scaffolds for Primate Spinal Cord Injury Repair

> **NIH VA I01** · VA SAN DIEGO HEALTHCARE SYSTEM · 2022 · —

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
The VA provides care for approximately 26% of individuals with SCI in the U.S. Treatment costs are 6.5
times higher than the cost of treatment of an average Veteran, and effective therapies to promote recovery of
neural function are lacking. Our overarching vision is to create an ex-vivo tissue that can replace the
damaged spinal cord and enable formation of new relay circuits across sites of even severe injury. Our
extensive rodent work with 3D printed biomimetic scaffolds shows that this approach can result in
electrophysiological and functional recovery after complete spinal cord transection, the most severe model
of spinal cord injury.
This project aims to assess the efficacy of 3D printed biomimetic scaffolds, loaded with human neural
progenitor cells and implanted sub-acutely, in a long-term clinically relevant, non-human primate model of
cervical spinal cord contusion.
There are 2 objectives to this project:
 1. Analysis of anatomical outcomes - Biocompatibility, integration, degradation, vascularization,
 host axon regeneration into the scaffold, and neural progenitor cell-derived axon outgrowth from the
 scaffold into the host.
 2. Analysis of functional outcomes. Animals will be functionally assessed on tasks of right-hand
 function, including Brinkman board, home cage-based robotic manipulation, forelimb and hindlimb
 use in an open field/exercise enclosure, and sensation.
Successful completion of the award will provide key data to support future clinical trials, with resulting high
impact.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10379167
- **Project number:** 5I01RX003405-02
- **Recipient organization:** VA SAN DIEGO HEALTHCARE SYSTEM
- **Principal Investigator:** Yacov Koffler
- **Activity code:** I01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** VA
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** —
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-04-01 → 2025-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10379167

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10379167, SCI Consortium Study: 3D Printed Scaffolds for Primate Spinal Cord Injury Repair (5I01RX003405-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10379167. Licensed CC0.

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