Lars Wahlberg, MD, PhD, received his MD degree in 1985 from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. He trained in neurosurgery, neuroscience and biomaterials at Brown University and at the Karolinska Institute, Sweden, leading to his specialty boards in neurosurgery and his PhD. Dr. Wahlberg held faculty appointments in neurosurgery at Brown University/Rhode Island Hospital and the Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm, Sweden before joining the biotechnology company CytoTherapeutics, Inc. in 1997 to develop cell and gene-based products for restorative neurosurgery.

The encapsulation technology was invented, developed and patented by Dr. Aebischer, Dr. Wahlberg, and colleagues (while at Brown). In 1999, Dr. Wahlberg moved to Denmark and teamed up with Dr. Teit E. Johansen and Prof. Anders Björklund to spin-off a new biotechnology company, NsGene A/S, dedicated to develop the encapsulated cell biodelivery technology and cell- and gene-based therapies for neurological diseases.