Patrick Aebischer is a leading academic researcher and industry entrepreneur with extensive experience in the field of cell and gene transfer, particularly for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. Dr. Aebischer currently serves as President of the Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), a leading university that combines teaching, research and technology transfer, along with an extensive network of universities, and industry and political leaders, to advance technological innovation in physical science and engineering. Dr. Aebischer was an Associate Professor of Medical Sciences at Brown University in Providence, RI, and was elected chairman of the section of artificial organs, biomaterials and cellular technology of the Division of Biology and Medicine of Brown University before becoming professor and medical director of the Surgical Research Division and Gene Therapy Center at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois in Lausanne, Switzerland. Dr. Aebischer is the recipient of numerous honors including the Robert Bing Prize of the Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences and the Pfizer Foundation Prize for Clinical Neurosciences. He is a fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering and the Swiss Academy of Medicine Sciences, a founder of CytoTherapeutics, Inc. (1989), Modex Therapeutiques, Inc. (1996) and Amazentis S.A. (2007) and a board member of Nestlé Inc., Lonza Inc. and the World Economic Forum, as well as chairman of the Novartis Venture Fund. Dr. Aebischer holds a Doctor of Medicine and trained as a neuroscientist at the University of Geneva, Switzerland.

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