The Foundation awarded six grants for a total of $339,887. The grants selected were in the following categories: Two Consumer, Community, & Caregiver Education, two Professional Development & Education, and 2 Conferences & Symposia.

Chang Dae Lee

Trustees of Indiana University

Indianapolis, Indiana

“Improving Accessibility Awareness and Disability Inclusion through an Educational Board Game: Development and Evaluation”

Awarded: $74,978

This project will create an educational game, similar to the ‘Game of Life.’ Our goal is to assist individuals who are newly living with SCI/D in reintegrating into their communitas, and to educate their caregivers on how to provide effective support. We are developing a digital game designed to enhance understanding of the challenges faced by individuals who use mobility devices, such as wheelchairs. We plan to evaluate the educational effectiveness of the game with new mobility device users, their caregivers, and rehabilitation professionals such as occupational therapists and physical therapists.

We will take their feedback into account and make any necessary improvements. Once the game is ready, we will distribute it free of charge on our website and social media platforms, allowing a wide audience to play and learn from it.

Understanding menopause, menopause related symptoms and health issues are crucial for women, especially those living with spinal cord injury or disease (SCI/D). Symptoms like irregular periods, hot flashes, mood swings, and cognitive difficulties can make managing their health tough. Social support and health knowledge are important during menopause, but many women with SCI/D lack access to relevant resources.

To address this care gap, an interdisciplinary team of experts in SCI/D and women’s health are conducting reviews to inform creation of a podcast series and related educational action planning tools entitled, "Menopause: Insight & Lived Experience Series."  These podcasts and educational resources will cover menopause symptoms and related health concerns, including changes in skin, bones, mood and heart disease risk associated with menopause. The project team will co-develop resources with women with lived experience with SCI/D to ensure that the podcast series and educational action planning tools meet their needs.

Adaptive Sports and Recreation (ASR) provides Veterans with SCI/D opportunities to exercise and participate in activities with others in the community. While many Physical, Occupational, and Recreational Therapists are interested to provide exposure to Veterans for adaptive sports, many lack training in adapted cycles, options, and accessories available to make educated recommendations and assist in procuring such equipment. Additionally, while community-based Adaptive Sports programs are typically managed and staffed by qualified personnel with expertise in ASR, they often have volunteers or staff who do not have any specific training related to seating, skin protection, or other functional considerations.

Development of an online training course for therapists will provide crucial education
needed for evaluation, ordering, fitting, training, and injury prevention for adaptive cycling for individuals with SCI/D to provide inclusive and safe opportunities for exercise, recreation, and competition.

Ela Plow

Cleveland Clinic Foundation

Cleveland, Ohio

"REACH (RCT Education for Acute/subacute Clinical reHabilitation)"

 Awarded: $75,000

Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) can cause serious, long-term disability among patients. Rehabilitation is crucial to the recovery process, and the earlier the better. However, even though we know that earlier rehabilitation can maximize function and independence in people with SCI, we do not have a lot of information on interventions that can make rehabilitation even more effective early after injury. Enough high-quality randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are lacking in early phase of SCI.

In this PVA Education Foundation- supported REACH (RCT Education for Acute/subacute Clinical rehabilitation) project, we seek to focus on two important issues: 1) find out why more clinicians aren’t participating in earlier-stage RCTs, and 2) use that information to create an educational, mentored research program to address barriers and empower clinicians to investigate early intensive evidence-based SCI treatments.

Binhai Zheng

UC San Diego

San Diego, California

“The 2025 San Diego Spinal Cord Injury Symposium (SDSCIS)”

Awarded: $20,000

The 2025 San Diego Spinal Cord Injury Symposium (SDSCIS) is a free, one-day gathering of leading researchers, clinicians, experts in the field of spinal cord injury and associated conditions (SCI/D), and individuals with lived experience, designed to share the latest advances in research, clinical care, rehabilitation, and community reintegration. The SDSCIS covers a broad range of topics related to SCI/D within an interactive format that facilitates networking, collaboration, and education for all of these stakeholders. The SCSCIS meets a distinct need for a regional SCI/D meeting in the Western United States and directly fulfills the PVA Education Foundation mission.

Mark Manago

University of Colorado

Aurora, Colorado

“14th International Symposium on Gait and Balance in Multiple Sclerosis”

Awarded: $19,911

The 14th Annual International Symposium on Gait and Balance in Multiple Sclerosis will be held on April 10th and 12th, 2025 in Denver, Colorado, and will focus on the importance of sleep for gait and balance in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). For 14 years this symposium has been an important way to share information on topics related to gait and balance for people with MS, the health care professionals who serve them, and the research community who advance discoveries in this area. On April 10th, 2025, there will be a patient-focused, virtual event that will be held in partnership with the National MS Society. On Saturday April 12th, 2025, there will be full day of in-person presentations and an afternoon poster session targeted to healthcare professionals who serve people with MS, including physical and occupational therapists, physicians, researchers, advocates, and trainees.