The Center for Paralysis Research was founded to both develop and test promising methods of treatment for spinal cord injuries. The Center utilizes its close affiliation with the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine to move basic laboratory methods into clinically meaningful veterinary testing with naturally occurring cases of dog spinal cord injuries. These clinical trials have proven to speed development of our techniques.

The Center was established in 1987 and throughout the years, the Center and its faculty have been supported by Federal Grants and Contracts, Corporate Support, Private Charitable Foundations, and generous donations from individuals.

The Director, Dr. Richard B. Borgens, has spoken to many different civic and charitable groups about the accomplishments of the Center and other aspects of spinal cord injury. The novel research approaches and findings have attracted attention world wide. Over 250,000 persons (in North America alone) are spinal cord injured and continually hope to improve the quality of their lives. The development of novel drugs, such as 4-Aminopyridine, for chronic SCI, targets the spinal problems of such chronically injured persons. About 10-12,000 new cases occur each year, and the Center is dedicated to research new treatments, such as oscillating electrical field stimulation and hydrophilic fusogens, to intervene in such acute injuries as well. The Center also coordinates and sponsors the Mari Hulman-George Lecture Series in Neurobiology which brings world renowned researchers in the field of Neurobiology to Purdue.