LAUSR

Introduction As basic and preclinical scientists, graduate students and trainees emphatically support the importance of both hearing and understanding the perspectives of individuals living with spinal cord injury (SCI); however, it is much more complex than most realize. Establishing avenues of communication among individuals with SCI, caretakers, and/or researchers is paramount to the success of our efforts in becoming well rounded researchers that are knowledgeable about principles of human well being. Here, we discuss the divides between researchers and individuals living with SCI that often create misunderstandings. By expanding on two topics within these divides, we seek to highlight the main message of this commentary from the student perspective: there is a need within the SCI research community for better data-sharing practices and communication among preclinical researchers, clinicians, and individuals living with SCI. First, we will discuss the diversity of data collection and sharing within the research realm. To continue to produce relevant research, we must increase communication among researchers to boost accessibility with data sharing. Then, we will discuss relevant diversities in the SCI human population as we young basic research scientists understand them to exist within the clinical setting. Such diversity is evident when diving into an individual’s background relating to culture, socioeconomic status, and education, which may all impact the care one seeks after sustaining an injury. By considering better data-sharing practices as well as the variability and diversity within the human SCI condition, we and researchers at every level in their careers may better appreciate the complexity of the human condition after SCI and therefore ask questions with higher relevancy and value in our own research.