More than 40 years ago, a group of faculty members at the Medical College of Pennsylvania (now the Drexel University College of Medicine) joined together to study ways of promoting recovery after spinal injury . They have taken advantage of recent advances in stem cell biology, gene therapy, physiology of locomotion and pharmacological interventions to open new avenues for more effective treatment of this previously intractable condition.
The Marion Murray Spinal Cord Research Center is engaged in an innovative and multi-disciplinary program for studying the pathophysiology of spinal cord injury and the use of various therapeutic strategies including transplantation, drug therapy, physical rehabilitation, functional electrical stimulation and robotics. These approaches represent the most sophisticated techniques of contemporary neuroscience and neuroengineering.
Our goal and mission are "to bridge the gap between the discovery phase and clinical application by optimizing promising research strategies and developing effective and responsible protocols to treat patients whose function has been limited by spinal cord injury".
The Center was named in honor of one of its founding members - Dr Marion Murray - who passed away in 2018. Dr Murray was a leader in the field of spinal cord injury, a pioneer in neuroplasticity, and strong supporter of women scientists and all students, and truly exceptional person. She did much for so many people around the world, and she is remembered very fondly.