Andrew R. Blight, Ph.D., has been Chief Scientific Officer at Acorda since January 2004. He served as Executive Vice President, Research and Development, from 2000 to 2004, and Vice President from 1998 to 2000. Before joining Acorda, Dr. Blight spent approximately six years as Professor and Director of the Neurosurgery Research Laboratory at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He held prior academic positions at Purdue University and New York University. Dr. Blight is a leader in spinal cord injury (SCI) pathophysiology research and has made several important contributions to the field, particularly on the role of demyelination in SCI. He also pioneered the therapeutic application of 4-AP in SCI animal models and in human clinical trials. Dr. Blight is a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Neurotrauma and has served as a member of the Neurological Sciences and Disorders-A (NSDA) review committee at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). He was previously Secretary, Treasurer and Vice President of the National Neurotrauma Society. Dr. Blight received his B.S. in Zoology and his Ph.D. in Zoology/Neurobiology from the University of Bristol, U.K.

 pathophysiology research