Armin Blesch obtained his BS/MS in Biological Sciences from the University of Würzburg, Germany, where he continued his studies for his PhD in Genetics and Neurosciences. For his postdoctoral work, he joined the laboratory of Mark Tuszynski at the University of California, San Diego to investigate neurotrophic factors as a means to augment axonal growth and neuronal survival.

Dr. Blesch is currently an Associate Professor of Neurosciences at the Center for Neural Repair, Department of Neurosciences at UCSD. His research is focused on gene therapy in the brain and spinal cord and neurotrophic factors in nervous system trauma and neurodegenerative disorders with the goal to translate basic science to clinical applications. Further interests include the development of novel strategies to improve regeneration following CNS damage.