Jocelyne Bloch facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jocelyne Bloch
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Jocelyne Bloch in 2019
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| Born | 1971 (age 53–54) |
| Nationality | Swiss |
| Education | Medicine |
| Alma mater | Lausanne University |
| Occupation | Neurosurgeon Neuroscientist |
| Known for | Neurorehabilitation |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | Lausanne University Hospital EPFL (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) |
| Thesis | (1994) |
Jocelyne Bloch (born in 1971) is a Swiss brain scientist and a brain surgeon. She works at the Lausanne University Hospital and at EPFL, a famous science university in Switzerland. She is known for her amazing work in helping people with spinal cord injuries.
Her Journey and Discoveries
Jocelyne Bloch finished medical school at Lausanne University in 1994. By 2002, she became a qualified brain surgeon. She is an expert in using deep brain stimulation and repairing the brain to help with movement disorders. These are conditions that make it hard for people to control their body movements.
Since 2019, she has also been a professor of neuroscience at EPFL. She works with another scientist, Grégoire Courtine, at the .Neurorestore Laboratory. This lab is a special place where they study how to fix the brain and spinal cord.
Dr. Bloch received the Ronald Tasker Award in 2019. This award was given to her for her new and exciting research. Her work focuses on how to use technology to help the brain and spinal cord heal. In 2024, Jocelyne Bloch and Grégoire Courtine were even named among the 100 most influential people in health by Time magazine.
Helping Paralyzed People Walk Again
One of Dr. Bloch's most important projects involves helping people who cannot move their legs. She is leading a study that uses a special technology to stimulate the spinal cord. This technology does not need a brain implant. The goal is to help people with partial spinal cord injuries walk better.
Dr. Bloch also worked on a groundbreaking study with monkeys. These monkeys had spinal injuries that made them unable to walk. Scientists used wireless implants in their brains and spines. These implants helped signals from the brain bypass the damaged part of the spinal cord. This allowed the monkeys to walk again.
Jocelyne Bloch helped to surgically place these implants. She explained that connecting the brain's signals to the spinal cord's stimulation is a completely new idea. This research could one day help paralyzed people regain control of their bodies.
