U2FP CureCast

Jason and Matthew interview Jim Harris, a wilderness photographer who was injured in 2014. Jim was recently featured in Outside Magazine regarding his experience with psilocybin and its connection to some restored mobility. This conversation is a follow-up to our previous podcast with Dr. Jessica Nielson on the potential use of psilocybin after SCI. However, in this episode, we specifically focus...

The research of psychedelics as a therapeutic for anxiety, depression, and PTSD has gained a lot of traction over the last decade. Given their potent effects on the nervous system, what are the unique benefits and possible side effects of psychedelics for the SCI population? And further, what is their potential to elicit functional recovery? If you ask the community, it doesn’t take long to find a...

Matthew and Jason talk with Ann Van de Winckel, a researcher and physical therapist at the University of Minnesota, Medical School, who is doing fascinating work to help restore body awareness below the level of injury - yes, you read that right - using cognitive multisensory rehabilitation (CMR). Dr. Van de Winckel’s work is showing reductions in neuropathic pain, sensation and motor recovery wit...

This episode features Thomas Cloyd, who is competing in the Bank of America Chicago Marathon for Team U2FP next Sunday, October 9th. Thomas’ reasons for joining Team U2FP go well beyond just this race. His history with U2FP goes back almost a decade when he helped Matthew Rodreick and others in the SCI community pass the SCI/TBI Research Grant bill here in Minnesota in 2015. That bill was the cata...

Jason and Mathew talk with Andrew Park, a clinician-researcher at Craig Rehabilitation Hospital in Denver, Colorado. Jason met Andrew while in Denver for one of U2FP’s Cure Advocacy Network stakeholder meetings last February. During that meeting, Andrew’s passion for his work became evident. In this podcast, we talk about what’s behind that passion, including: his path to becoming a researcher; hi...

Jason and Matthew talk with Lucia Webb, U2FP’s Operations Director. We focus on a seemingly minor aspect of our work - our racing and fundraising initiative, Team U2FP - and breakdown why it’s critical for so much of what we do, especially the legislative bills we’ve passed through our Cure Advocacy Network. We talk about the impact of Team U2FP for everyone - not just marathon racers and wheelers...

Jason and Matthew interview Dr. Camillo Castillo, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Physician at Frazer Rehabilitation Hospital in Louisville KY along with his Clinical SCI Navigation team: Emily Coons, Brendan Doksa and Heather Connor. We are raising a simple question about the introduction of spinal cord stimulation (SCS) to the clinic: are we ready to receive it? What will that look like? Wh...

Jason and Matthew interview Dr. Uzma Samadani, a neurosurgeon working in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Dr. Samadani participated in the EStand trial (https://www.estand.org/) along with David Darrow, Ann Parr and Taye Nettoff. We decided to interview Dr. Samadani based on her experience of implanting epidural stimulators in people with SCI - as part of her clinical practice - instead of the current appr...

We are dedicating this podcast episode to Franklin Elieh, co-founder of NorCalSCI (https://norcalsci.org/news/2022/franklin). Franklin died this past month after living for decades with an SCI. He embodied the critical characteristics of empathy, systems thinking and deep connection to the community that all successful advocates share. He also lived his life on the continuum of Care and Cure. His...

Jason and Matthew talk with Samantha Troyer, an SCI peer mentor in Wisconsin who joined up with U2FP’s Cure Advocacy Network (CAN) to become a legislative advocate there. Sam is joined by our CAN Manager, Jake Beckstrom. We talk about the current effort to pass an SCI research funding Bill in Wisconsin, its attendant ups and downs, unique challenges, the perseverance required for this work, and th...

Jason and Matthew speak with Samuel Stupp, a Professor of Materials Science, Chemistry, Medicine, and Biomedical Engineering at Northwestern University. You may remember reading about Dr. Stupp late last year when news about his ‘dancing molecules’ used in a preclinical model of acute spinal cord injury circulated widely. We discuss Dr. Stupp’s discoveries, his commitment to researching and delive...

Jason and Matthew talk with Michael Lane (Researcher at Drexel College of Medicine) and Jake Chalfin (SCI advocate and chair of the PA Spinal Cord Advisory Research Council,) as we continue with part 2 of our series on the experience of SCI community consultants in research labs. This discussion continues our exploration around the exciting and unique nature of this relationship and its impact on...

Jason and Matthew interview Dr. Murray Blackmore (Marquette University) and Nancy Nichols (person with lived experience of SCI) about Nancy’s addition to the Blackmore Lab as a consultant. We talk about the relationship that developed, the impact it's had on the Blackmore Lab, and the impact relationships like this could have on the wider research landscape. If you are a scientist or a member of t...

Coming soon ...

Jason and Matthew interview Dr. Barry Komisaruk, Neurophysiologist from the Psychology Department at Rutgers University. Barry has been researching sexuality for over 50 years and is maybe best known for the seminal work: The Science of Orgasm. We talk about the history of his research and discoveries, the historical challenges around sexual function research and ideas for how to further this area...

Jason and Matthew talk with Megan Detloff (SCI researcher at Drexel College of Medicine) and Bethany Kondiles (SCI researcher at ICORD). They talk about the evolution of the International Online SCI Research Seminar (IOSCIRS) in response to the pandemic and as a forum for SCI researchers to stay abreast of one another's work. But they have also begun to discuss the value of the seminar for the lay...

Jason and Matthew have a conversation in response to the last two conversations on sex after SCI. They talk about where the conversation seemed to be going and after some reflection, where it ought to go. Listen in and don’t forget to check out the information about this year’s Annual Science and Advocacy Symposium in Salt Lake City at u2fp.org AND, send a message to curecast@u2fp.org for comments...

Jason and Matthew continue the conversation from episode 52 with SCI community members, Quinn Brett, Kelsey Peterson and Thomas Cloyd. They discuss each guest’s experience with sex after injury, where they got their information and what they’ve learned and continue to learn. This conversation starts to set the stage for our upcoming episodes with SCI researchers focused on sexual function for plea...

Episode 52 begins our series on Sex, sex and SCI and the research into restoring sexual function. Matthew and Jason start by talking with Kelsey Peterson, Quinn Brett, and Thomas Cloyd about their experiences with sex after injury: their partners, perceptions, feelings and explorations. This is a frank and explicit conversation, so be prepared. We plan to continue the conversation with multiple in...

Jimmy Anderson is a state representative in the Wisconsin general Assembly who also lives with an SCI. Jason and Matthew talk with Jimmy about his education, injury and how they led him into politics. They also discuss the effort Jimmy is championing to create a $3 million Wisconsin SCI research program. This push for smart SCI research funding is modeled after similar legislation U2FP’s Cure Advo...

Jason and Matthew talk with U2FP's Scientific Advisory Board Director, Sam Maddox about U2FP’s new Headline Patrol and how to read the news about SCI research. Headlines and media coverage of research can often be misleading. Sam talks about his years following and covering the research. He provides a number of suggestions for what to look for, what terms are critical to understand in order to hav...

Jason and Matthew speak with Dr. Melissa Miller and Jacqueline Roche from the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program’s SCIRP (Spinal Cord Injury Research Program). SCIRP is a $40 million per year funding program for SCI that is of specific interest because they include people with SCI in the scientific review process. We talk about the program, its funding strategies and most importantl...

Jason and Matthew talk with Dr. Richard Toselli, the President, CEO and CMO at Invivo Therapeutics. Invivo has developed and is trialing its Neuro Spinal Scaffold for the treatment of Spinal Cord Injury in the acute setting. We talk with Dr. Toselli about its development, current testing and potential future uses and applications. Dr. Richard Toselli (M.D., M.B.A.), serves as InVivo’s President, C...

Jason and Matthew speak with Leon Ford about his advocacy and activism in Pittsburgh and across the United States. The conversation weaves in and through the wisdom that Leon has earned through tragedy, pain and self reflection...and its relationship to our work of protest and partnership. --- Leon Ford, a native of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania born on March 16, 1993, has accomplished so much in such a...

Jason and Matthew interview professional climber and passionate spinal cord injury advocate, Quinn Brett. We talk with Quinn about her career as a climber, the 100 foot fall from the face of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park that dropped her into our SCI community, and how she’s navigating the ascents of advocacy. Let us know what you think of the conversation by emailing us at curecast@u2fp.or...