The research that led to this world-first human clinical trial did not happen overnight. It has been built across more than a decade of incremental, determined scientific work, much of it funded through the generosity of the Foundation’s donors and the advocacy of Perry Cross himself.

In 2013, PCSRF began supporting spinal cord injury research at Griffith University, recognising the potential of work being pioneered by Emeritus Professor Alan Mackay-Sim. Professor Mackay-Sim was among the first researchers in the world to demonstrate that cells taken from the olfactory system could be transplanted safely into a spinal cord injury site, laying the scientific foundation for everything that followed. When Alan faced funding challenges that threatened to stall the research, it was Perry who helped ensure the work could continue.

It was through this connection that Perry Cross and Professor James St John came together in 2013. Professor St John had been building on Alan’s legacy at Griffith University, advancing the science of nerve bridge technology and working toward a moment when it could be tested in humans. Perry saw that potential, and the Foundation committed to supporting it for the long haul. Across the years that followed, PCSRF funded a series of individual research projects within what has grown into a long-term research partnership with Griffith University, including projects on olfactory cell transplantation, nerve bridge development, nasal biopsy research, injury site preparation, and rehabilitation trials. Each project was a deliberate step forward.

A key milestone in this journey was the Foundation’s advocacy with the Queensland Government, which helped secure the initial $5M in funding that allowed Griffith University to build and establish the world-class research lab that the Spinal Injury Project is built upon today. PCSRF was not the only contributor to this outcome, but the Foundation was the catalyst that helped make it happen. Since that initial commitment, MAIC has gone on to invest a further $5.7M in 2020 and $5.4M in 2023, bringing their total direct support to $16.1M. Today, that lab is home to over 40 researchers from 19 countries, and the human clinical trial that Perry and James first dared to imagine is now underway.