Reeve Summit 2026 Showcases Momentum in Paralysis Research, Care, and Advocacy

With a focus on Today's Innovation, Tomorrow's Impact, the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation and its National Paralysis Resource Center host the paralysis community

BOSTON, May 12, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation hosted its 2026 Reeve Summit from May 6-8 in Boston, bringing together individuals living with paralysis, caregivers, researchers, clinicians, policymakers, and advocates for three days of collaboration, innovation, and fostering engagement.

The Reeve Summit: Where Care, Cure and Community Connect is the premier national educational gathering focused on advancing research, improving quality of life, and accelerating progress toward treatments and cures for spinal cord injury and paralysis. The Summit serves as a critical platform for uniting diverse stakeholders across the paralysis community, encouraging collaboration between those living with or caring for someone living with paralysis and the experts working to advance care and cure.

This year's Summit featured a dynamic program addressing current issues impacting the paralysis community, including patient voice in scientific research and development, aging with paralysis, adaptive sports, caregiving relationships, the care and rehabilitation landscape and more. Attendees engaged in expert-led sessions, interactive discussions, and networking opportunities designed to spark new ideas and drive meaningful change. In addition, Reeve Foundation Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Marco Baptista and "Nurse Linda," a rehabilitation nursing expert who worked closely with Christopher Reeve on his recovery, provided dedicated time to individually meeting with attendees on their health and science questions.

"Each year it is our great honor and pleasure to bring together this vibrant community for wide-ranging discussions that encourage collaboration to refine what living with paralysis looks like today, and what it can look like tomorrow," said Regina Blye, Chief Program & Policy Officer of the Reeve Foundation. "The Reeve Summit reflects a rapidly evolving community. This year, the momentum feels unstoppable."

Across the scientific landscape, breakthroughs once considered distant are moving closer to everyday reality, redefining what recovery and independence can mean. Promising therapeutic strategies are addressing not only paralysis and spinal cord injury conditions themselves, but the secondary complications of paralysis that shape daily life. The Foundation's research portfolio continues to expand, supporting bold investigators who are improving function, enhancing quality of life, and laying the groundwork for innovative treatments. While researchers push boundaries in the lab, the Reeve Foundation remains equally focused on daily realities: physical and mental health, caregiving, employment, the unique needs of veterans and service members, and the evolving role of technology in expanding independence, to name a few.

A highlight of the event was a keynote conversation with actor and disability advocate Marissa Bode, who discussed representation in entertainment and expanding opportunities for creatives living with disabilities. Bode made her feature film debut as the principal character, Nessarose, in Universal's Wicked duology. Ali Stroker, Tony Award winner and the first actor in a wheelchair to appear on Broadway, emceed the Summit.

Rebecca Hines, Ph.D, Commissioner of the Administration on Disabilities (AoD), part of the Administration for Community Living (ACL) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), also spoke about advancing independence and quality of life. The Reeve Summit is designed and delivered by the National Paralysis Resource Center (NPRC) at the Foundation. The NPRC is currently supported by ACL with a financial assistance award totaling $10,000,000 with 100 percent funding by ACL/HHS. The NPRC is the only national program that directly serves the 5.4 million Americans living with multiple sclerosis (MS), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), stroke, spina bifida, spinal cord injury, cerebral palsy, and other forms of paralysis. The Reeve Foundation has operated the NPRC for almost 25 years, competing in a rigorous, competitive bidding process.

The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation is dedicated to curing spinal cord injury through innovative research and improving the quality of life for individuals and families impacted by paralysis. The Foundation envisions a world in which spinal cord injury does not result in paralysis and paralysis does not result in diminished quality of life.

For more information about the Reeve Summit, the National Paralysis Resource Center, and the Foundation's work, visit www.christopherreeve.org and www.christopherreeve.org/reevesummit.

About the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation
The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation is dedicated to curing spinal cord injury by funding innovative research and improving the quality of life for individuals and families impacted by paralysis. Additionally, through a cooperative agreement with the Administration for Community Living, the Reeve Foundation's National Paralysis Resource Center (NPRC) promotes the health, well-being, and independence of people living with paralysis, providing comprehensive information, resources, and referral services assisting over 128,000 individuals and families since its launch in 2002. The Reeve Foundation is committed to elevating our community's voices and needs to achieve greater representation and independence.

We meet all 20 of the Better Business Bureau's standards for charity accountability and hold the BBB's Charity Seal. For more information, please visit ChristopherReeve.org or call 800-225-0292.

SOURCE Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation