The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis is a
spinal cord injury
A spinal cord injury (SCI) is damage to the spinal cord that causes temporary or permanent changes in its function. It is a destructive neurological and pathological state that causes major motor, sensory and autonomic dysfunctions.
Symptoms of ...
research center and a designated Center of Excellence at the
University of Miami
The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...
's
Miller School of Medicine in
Miami
Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
, Florida.
The Miami Project was co-founded in 1985 by Barth A. Green and
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional football (gridiron), professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of profes ...
linebacker
Nick Buoniconti
Nicholas Anthony Buoniconti (, December 15, 1940 – July 30, 2019) was an American professional American football, football player who was a middle linebacker in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). He played c ...
after Buoniconti's son, Marc, sustained a
spinal cord injury
A spinal cord injury (SCI) is damage to the spinal cord that causes temporary or permanent changes in its function. It is a destructive neurological and pathological state that causes major motor, sensory and autonomic dysfunctions.
Symptoms of ...
during a college football game. The Miami Project's international team is housed in the Lois Pope LIFE Center and includes more than 250 scientists, researchers and clinicians.
Clinical trials
In July 2012, The Miami Project was granted approval by the
U.S. FDA to proceed with a Schwann cell implantation clinical trial. In November 2012, doctors from the University of Miami implanted the first patient with his own Schwann cells, initiating phase 1 of the trial, a test of the safety and efficacy of the technique.
Buoniconti Fund
The Buoniconti family established The Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis in 1992, a non-profit organization devoted to assisting The Miami Project.
Lois Pope LIFE Center
The center is located in the Schoninger research quadrangle at the
University of Miami's Jackson Memorial Medical Center. It was named in honor of
Lois Pope, who donated $10 million toward its construction, and of her charity Leaders in Furthering Education (LIFE).
The building opened on October 26, 2000. Pope's gift also funds 20 LIFE Fellows for
neurological
Neurology (from , "string, nerve" and the suffix -logia, "study of") is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the nervous system, which comprises the brain, the s ...
research. The six-story building cost $28 million and was designed by MGE Architects. The block of Northwest 11th Avenue in
Miami
Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
in front of the building has been named Buoniconti Drive.
References
External links
Official web site
{{authority control
Medical research institutes in the United States
University of Miami
Research institutes in Florida