Driving access and innovation to reduce the international burden of neck and back (spinal) pain
Summary:
To address the Grand Challenge of spinal pain, this team will expand the Spinal Rehabilitation Registry (SPINA) by incorporating key biological markers related to pain and functional disability. SPINA collects long-term data on individuals receiving rehabilitation for spinal pain but currently lacks biological information. This funding will support biological data collection through a mobile “biobus,” enabling research participation among groups facing barriers such as low-income, under-housed, rural/remote, incarcerated, and immigrant populations. Through inclusive sampling and collaboration, SPINA will become the most comprehensive and representative spinal pain registry.
Project Duration: January 2025 – December 2026
Amount: $50,000
Team Leads: Alison Rushton (Physical Therapy) & David Walton (Physical Therapy)
Team Members:
Greg Alcock (Physical Therapy), Chris Bailey (Surgery), David Holdworth (Medical Biophysics), Eldon Loh (Physiatry), Mike Lukacs (Physical Therapy), Joy MacDermid (Physical Therapy), Narinder Paul (Medical Imaging), Aaron Price (Engineering), Parham Rasoulinejad (Surgery), Jackie Sadi (Physical Therapy), Cheryle Seguin (Physiology & Pharmacology), David Seminowicz (Medical Biophysics), Supriya Singh (Surgery), Siobhan Schabrun (Physical Therapy), Tina Ziebart (Physical Therapy), Katie Kowalski (Physical Therapy), Geoffrey Ng (Medical Biophysics), Aliyu Lawan (Physical Therapy), Marcelo Oppermann (Clinical Neurological Sciences), Jessica Wong (Physical Therapy), Irene Yang (Engineering), Kayla Fewster (Kinesiology), Mulugeta Chala (Physical Therapy), Tim Noblet (St. George’s University, Physical Therapy), Cathie Hofstetter (Patient Partner), Maggie Perquin (Patient Partner)
Completed Milestones
- Applied to NSERC RTI for a new motion capture system (Fall 2024, unsuccessful)
- Applied to CIHR Project Grant in Spring 2025 (unsuccessful)
- Applied to CIHR Project Grant in Fall 2025 (pending)
- Secured collaborations with omics experts in Biochemistry
- Established collaborations in the UK, Netherlands, Australia, and Nigeria to launch SPINA globally
Future Milestones
- University Advancement to fundraise for the biobus
- Will enable mobile data collection
- Update ethics protocols for mobile data collection
- Relationship-building activities with community groups
- Biological data collection and analysis
