Ann A Kiessling, Director of the Bedford Stem Cell Research Foundation, presents the introduction to the 2009 Spinal Cord Workshop. This workshop was a think tank of leaders in the scientific community. The purpose of the meeting is to provide not only an update on the work being done in the community - but also to identify and find ways to break-down barriers to curing currently incurable diseases, such as Spinal Cord Injury. The Spinal Cord Workshop (www.spinalcordworkshop.org) is a program of the Bedford Stem Cell Research Foundation, a 501(c)3 publicly supported non profit organization dedicated to finding cures for currently incurable diseases. Please visit bedfordresearch.org for more information and to support our work.