# 3D Printed Scaffolds for Primate Spinal Cord Injury Repair

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · 2020 · $656,077

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Nearly 300,000 Americans have sustained some form of spinal cord injury (SCI), 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 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 performance outcomes of the grant may lead to clinical trials, with resulting high impact.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9867239
- **Project number:** 1R01NS114043-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO
- **Principal Investigator:** Yacov Koffler
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $656,077
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-01-01 → 2022-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9867239

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9867239, 3D Printed Scaffolds for Primate Spinal Cord Injury Repair (1R01NS114043-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9867239. Licensed CC0.

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