Media advisory - Reminder - Queensland Premier to Announce Groundbreaking
Australian Partnership with Rick Hansen Institute

VANCOUVER, April 30 /CNW/ -

    
    What:  Representatives of the media are invited to join Anna Bligh,
           Premier of Queensland, Australia, today at a news conference
           announcing a precedent-setting partnership between the Rick Hansen
           Institute and Queensland spinal cord injury (SCI) researchers.

    Who:   Anna Bligh - Premier of Queensland, Australia
           Moira Stilwell - BC Minister of Advanced Education and Labour
           Market Development
           Rick Hansen - President and CEO of the Rick Hansen Foundation
           Dr. Marcel Dvorak - Medical Director of the Rick Hansen SCI
           Registry

    When:  Friday, April 30, 2010 - 2:30 pm

    Where: Blusson Spinal Cord Centre - 818 W 10th Avenue, Vancouver

    Why:   Funding will be provided to a research group in Brisbane,
           Australia, allowing it to partner with researchers/clinicians at
           the Blusson Spinal Cord Centre in Vancouver and to establish
           Brisbane as the first international site of the Rick Hansen Spinal
           Cord Injury Registry. The Registry is a program of the Rick Hansen
           Institute with 35 sites across Canada at major acute care and
           rehabilitation hospitals. It tracks, stores, and relates critical
           data collected from people who sustain a spinal cord injury which
           is then used by researchers to better understand the impact and
           effectiveness of specific medical interventions.
    

For further information: Media Contacts: Cliff Bridges, Manager, Communications, Rick Hansen Institute, [email protected], [phone], [phone] (c); Chris McBride, Director, Translational Research Program, Rick Hansen Institute, [phone]