Jocelyne Bloch

Jocelyne Bloch is a Full Professor at the University of Lausanne (UNIL) and Head of the Neurosurgery Department at CHUV, positions she has held since February 1, 2025. She is affiliated with the Faculty of Biology and Medicine at UNIL and co-directs the NeuroRestore research center in collaboration with EPFL, integrating clinical expertise and engineering innovation.

• Full Professor, Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne (2025–present)
• Head, Department of Neurosurgery, CHUV (2025–present)
• Co-Director, NeuroRestore Research Center (2019–present)
• Full Professor, Neuroprosthetics Center, EPFL (2019–present)
• Associate Professor, UNIL (2017–2025)

Jocelyne Bloch's research focuses on functional and stereotactic neurosurgery, with a mission to restore motor function after neurological injury. Her work spans regenerative neurotherapies, neuromodulation, and neuroprosthetics, particularly through brain-spinal cord interfaces and wireless implants. She pioneered cortical cell transplantation techniques and contributed to the development of AI-optimized spinal cord stimulators that enable paralyzed patients to walk again, including those with complete spinal injuries. Her research bridges laboratory innovation with clinical application, emphasizing translational neuroscience.

Her recent publications highlight breakthroughs in brain-machine interfaces, spinal cord stimulation, and neurorehabilitation, with studies published in Nature, Nature Medicine, and Nature Neuroscience. These works demonstrate a strong trend toward closed-loop, AI-driven systems for motor recovery, with increasing focus on real-world mobility and patient autonomy.

• 2021 Leenaards Foundation Scientific Award for the project “Brain-spinal cord interface to regain the use of the legs”

Bloch has played a key role in mentoring and academic leadership, supervising students and junior researchers. She has secured significant research funding through institutional and collaborative grants supporting NeuroRestore and regenerative neurosurgery initiatives. She is a founding member of Onward Medical (formerly GTX-Medical) and founder and president of the Neurocellia association, advocating for cellular therapies in neuroscience. She also serves on the board of the European Society for Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery.

She co-directs NeuroRestore, a pioneering research center uniting CHUV-UNIL’s medical expertise with EPFL’s engineering capabilities. The center develops innovative neurotherapies involving neurosurgical interventions, rehabilitation platforms, and advanced neural interfaces to treat paralysis and movement disorders.