Plenary #1 - The Guttmann Lecture
Tracks
Plenary
| Thursday, October 8, 2026 |
| 9:40 AM - 10:30 AM |
| Banquet Hall (Plenary) |
Details
In the years and decades after spinal cord injury (SCI) onset, people may endure secondary health conditions, social isolation, and economic hardships, while needing essential daily supports just to survive. Yet many, if not most, prosper and reach aging milestones of 40, 50, or more years of life with SCI. The purpose of this presentation is to bring together more than 50 years of research and lived experience with SCI to help us understand better the challenges faced by people with SCI during different periods of the lifecycle and the factors enabling people to survive and prosper. A primary focus will be the prevention of secondary health conditions and their escalation into life-threatening negative health spirals, as well as the role of critical lapses in attendant care and other supports. Community participation, quality employment, and avoidance of high-risk behaviors will be linked with longevity and prosperity. The presentation will draw upon a half-century of research by the investigator team and will be anchored by the experiences of several thousand participants with SCI.
Presenter (only the submitting author is listed below; co-presenters, where applicable, will be listed in the conference app)
Prof James Krause
Medical University of South Carolina
Surviving and prospering after spinal cord injury: 50 years of SCI research.
Biography
James S. Krause, PhD, is a Distinguished University Professor, Associate Dean for Research in the College of Health Professions, and Director of the Center for Rehabilitation Research in Neurologic Conditions at the Medical University of South Carolina. He has nearly four decades of experience leading longitudinal studies of health, employment, and community participation among people with spinal cord injury (SCI). He is on the advisory panel to the National SCI Statistical Center with the SCI Model Systems in the USA. Dr. Krause has published extensively in the areas of employment, health and secondary conditions, racial/ethnic disparities, and risk for early mortality. He has received several prestigious awards, including the National Medtronic Courage Award in 2011, which had previously been awarded to Senators Max Cleveland and Bob Dole, physicist Stephen Hawking, and activist Christopher Reeve. He also has received distinguished career awards from the National Association of Rehabilitation Research and Training Centers, Association for Rehabilitation Research Policy and Education, and the American Paraplegia Society. In 2023, he received the South Carolina Governor’s award for Excellence in Scientific Research. Dr. Krause is approaching milestones of 20,000 days and 55 years of lived experience with SCI.
