, which supported the program at its inception in 2014, has extended that support through 2026 with a new grant for $5.5 million over five years.

Children in the clinical and research programs of the Center for Pediatric NeuroRecovery are treated with innovative, science-based therapies such as activity-based locomotor training, neuromuscular electrical stimulation and transcutaneous spinal stimulation. These therapies have led to improved strength, abilities and overall health for the children in ways their families thought would not be possible.

“We went from feeling hopeless to hopeful after just one conversation with Dr. Behrman,” said Kylee Hoelscher who, with her husband and older daughter, moved from California to Louisville in 2016 so their then-6-year-old daughter Eden could continue therapy.

“This is the only program in the world that offers hope for children with a spinal cord injury,” Hoelscher said. “When she started, Eden could not even sit up on her own and attended school at home. Now she goes to school independently and has sleepovers with friends. She rock climbs. She plays tennis. What they’re doing for her is life-changing.”

“We are grateful to Kosair Charities for their continued support for the Center for Pediatric NeuroRecovery, a remarkable program that gives hope for recovery to children with spinal cord injuries – hope and care they can find almost nowhere else,” said UofL President Neeli Bendapdudi. “This support, along with that of other pediatric research and clinical care programs at UofL, will help us fulfill our commitment to advancing our health, not only for children in Louisville and Kentucky, but the world over.”

In addition to the multi-year, $5.5 million in new funding for pediatric neurorecovery, Kosair Charities has designated $900,000 this year for other pediatric programs at UofL:

• $475,000 for the , led by Melissa Currie, professor of pediatrics, to support education, research and advocacy to help curb all forms of child maltreatment.
• $225,000 to purchase cardiorespiratory monitors at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, led by Tonya Robinson. These cardiorespiratory monitors provide real-time and trended vital signs, allowing for a comprehensive evaluation of an infant’s current status and of changes occurring before a devastating event. The monitors assist in determining the causes of medical events and help prevent them from happening again.
• $200,000 for pediatric cancer immunotherapy research at , directed by Jason Chesney, that will allow the center to build on the cancer immunotherapy drug discovery work begun in 2020 that already has revealed new small-molecule inhibitors.

“Everything we do is for children, whether it be with spinal cord injuries, cancer, those born prematurely, or vulnerable – every child who has specialized needs – they are the motivation behind everything we do,” said Keith Inman, president of Kosair Charities. “There’s no better investment than the children in our community, and we simply cannot do this work without partners like the University of Louisville. The partnership of UofL and Kosair Charities helps ensure so many children have the healthiest lives possible.”

At the Center for Pediatric NeuroRecovery, the funding from Kosair Charities will support further advances in therapy for children with spinal cord injury, as well as research and training for future researchers and providers. It also will enable the program to accept younger and medically complex children, develop a teen-focused, recovery-based program and study neuromodulation, a way to stimulate the spinal cord and improve mobility and health.

“Children with spinal cord injury are at risk for multiple medical and health complications. This grant from Kosair will allow us to expand our focus to improve areas of their health beyond movement,” Behrman said. “This will not only get these children physically better, but help them have a healthy life.”

The Madson family also relocated to Louisville for this program, moving from the Minneapolis area to ensure their son Luke could continue the therapy, based at .

“The more Luke moves, the more alive he is,” Sarah Madson said of her now-2-year-old son, who was the youngest child to start the program at 15 months. “When we arrived, he was crawling on the ground, maybe doing little circles, with no forward movement. He is now walking in a walker everywhere and engaging with the world. This program has meant everything to us.”

The grant announced today brings Kosair Charities’ total support for the center to $13 million.

In April, UofL and Kosair Charities celebrated a milestone of topping $50 million in gifts from Kosair Charities to UofL since 1982. The grants announced today bring that total to $56.8 million.

Behrman is director of the and co-director of the Reeve Foundation NeuroRecovery Network.

The program begins at 8 p.m. on Sept. 14 and will be held at Against the Grain Brewery, 401 E. Main St. A 30-minute presentation will be followed by an informal Q&A session.

The Beer with a Scientist program began in 2014 and is the brainchild of UofL cancer researcher Levi Beverly, Ph.D. Follow the link to see a video about a recent

For more information and to suggest future Beer with a Scientist topics, follow

NEXT BEER WITH A SCIENTIST, OCT. 12:   

As part of , Beer with a Scientist founder, Levi Beverly, PhD, will present:  “The cutting-edge ways that researchers and clinicians are diagnosing and curing cancer right here in Louisville.” Beverly will give a series of short presentations on some of the research and clinical trials happening right here in our own backyard.

In their presentation, the researchers discussed how therapies aimed at recovery and improved function after neurological injury or disease can be designed based on key scientific evidence of the ability of the central nervous system to change through physical activity, a process known as activity-dependent plasticity. They discussed how evidence for this process can be used in the treatment of children with chronic spinal cord injury. The sensorimotor experience of typical childhood development, current rehabilitation after pediatric SCI, and activity-based therapies were also explored as a basis for different outcomes and expectations.

To assist in the development of these novel therapies, the team introduced the Neuromuscular Recovery Scale and the Pediatric Neuromuscular Recovery Scale, tools for assessing the neuromuscular capacity of adults and children to perform functional tasks without compensation from behavioral strategies, equipment or physical assistance. The scale can be used to classify capacity and track recovery in individuals with neurologic injury or disorders.

“One aim of this assessment is to capture incremental gains in motor function. Assessing ‘how’ the movement is performed also addresses the quality of the movement, which distinguishes this measure from many other pediatric instruments typically in use,” Behrman said.

With funding from the Department of Defense and the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation, the group has established the validity, reliability, responsiveness and other properties of the scale, which will pave the way for it to be incorporated into clinical practice and research. Other aspects of the research are supported by the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation and Kosair Charities.

The IV STEP conference, sponsored by the Pediatric and Neurology Sections of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), was designed to explore new theory and research evidence related to movement science and to translate this theory and evidence into physical therapy practice. This year’s six-day program included 33 invited speakers, 13 video case presentations and 100 peer-reviewed poster presentations for approximately 700 clinicians, educators, and researchers from around the United States and abroad.

It was only the fourth such conference to be held in 50 years. The first, NUSTEP, was held in 1966 and the second, II STEP, in 1990. At III STEP, held at the University of Utah in June 2005, Behrman presented information on her research in using locomotor therapy, “Locomotor recovery after SCI: From basic science to clinical practice.”

In addition to the invited plenary presentation by Behrman and Harkema, five research teams from Frazier Rehabilitation Center, a part of Kentucky One Health, and the University of Louisville were presenting posters.

Behrman is a professor in the UofL Department of Neurological Surgery and director of the . Her research focus is to develop and test therapeutic interventions promoting recovery after spinal cord injury in children and adults capitalizing on activity-dependent neuroplasticity and an understanding of the neurobiology of walking and motor control. Her research has demonstrated improvements in trunk control in children in particular.

Harkema is a professor in the UofL Department of Neurological Surgery and associate scientific director of the UofL Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center. Harkema’s research in epidural stimulation in adults shows promise in helping individuals recover function following complete spinal cord injury.

The University of Louisville is an academic sponsor of the IV STEP Conference.