Conventional imaging techniques for spinal cord injury (SCI) cannot provide a ‘live-feed’ of the acute cellular changes that occur immediately after injury. This critical gap is imperative for measuring therapeutic interventions, and ultimately - finding a cure. I have used advanced functional imaging in South Australia to develop a definitive imaging protocol to predict injury severity and outcomes by measuring cellular biomarkers. I now need to validate this protocol by increasing our biomarker catalogue. I will use this fellowship to visit world leaders in neurotrauma and gain hands on experience with novel molecular biomarkers and the cutting-edge medical imaging platforms applied to support their use.