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. Symptoms may include loss of muscle function, sensation, or autonomic function in the parts of the body served by the spinal cor ...

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 research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...

Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine (UMMSM) is the University of Miami's graduate medical school in Miami, Florida. Founded in 1952, it is the oldest medical school in the state of Florida. Campus The University of Miami's Leonard M. Miller Sch ...

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. 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 American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coach ...

linebacker

Nick Buoniconti Nicholas Anthony Buoniconti (December 15, 1940 – July 30, 2019) was an American professional football player who was a middle linebacker in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). He played for the Boston Patriot ...

after Buoniconti's son, Marc, sustained a

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 The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food s ...

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 Lois Berrodin Pope (born June 7, 1933)The Lois Pope Foundation"Tribute to 3 Million Disabled American Veterans" Disabled World, May 23, 2011. Accessed April 16, 2012. is an American philanthropist. She is the widow of ''National Enquirer'' founde ...

, 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 el, νεῦρον (neûron), "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 brain, the spinal ...

research. The six-story building cost $28 million and was designed by MGE Architects. The block of Northwest 11th Avenue in

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