Posted on Sept. 17: Spotlight shines on McMaster’s spinal cord research

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/mclellan_2.jpg” caption=”Centre for Health Promotion and Rehabilitation”]When paralyzed actor Christopher Reeve credited activity-based recovery for a regained sensation in his fingers, wrists and legs, McMaster's Kathleen Martin was delighted, but not surprised.

Martin and researchers in McMaster's Centre for Health Promotion and Rehabilitation have been working towards this for years.

In her lab in the Ivor Wynne Centre, the assistant professor of kinesiology conducts research on the benefits of exercise for people with chronic disease and disability, including individuals with arthritis, heart disease and spinal cord injuries.

With $122,097 from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, she's confident they will make great advances in this field.

“Without a CIHR grant, our colleagues wouldn't be able to continue our research,” she said at an announcement by health minister Anne McLellan at McMaster Tuesday.

McLellan, who shone a spotlight on the work of Martin, toured her lab and spoke to those benefiting directly from her research.

“It is research like Dr. Martin's that may one day allow people with these kinds of conditions, like Christopher Reeve, to move and increase their mobility,” said McLellan. “This research will truly make a difference in the quality of life, not just for Canadians but for people around the world.”

Joined by Sheila Copps, minister of Canadian Heritage, Stan Keyes, MP for Hamilton West and Alan Bernstein, president of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, McLellan announced at McMaster a CIHR investment of more than $78 million for health research in Ontario.

The investment, initially announced in July, includes 26 McMaster researchers who will receive $8.9 million in funding. In total, 183 research projects were funded at 23 institutions across the province. Projects will be carried out over periods of one to five years and cover a wide spectrum of health research.

The work of McMaster's Ken Rosenthal, a professor of pathology & molecular medicine, was also highlighted at the event. Rosenthal's research advances the development of vaccines that induce protective mucosal immune responses to protect individuals from sexually transmitted viruses, such as herpes simplex virus (HSV) and HIV.

Photo caption: Minister of Health Anne McLellan, left, Kathleen Martin, assistant professor of kinesiology, and Stan Keyes, MP for Hamilton West, tour McMaster's Centre for Health Promotion and Rehabilitation.