Marc Bolliger, born in 1973, studied sport and exercise science at the University of Basel and received his doctorate from Humboldt University in Berlin in 2005. He subsequently carried out postdoctoral research at the University of Zurich and ETH Zurich in the field of neurorehabilitation and rehabilitation robotics. Since 2010, he has headed the Research Department at the Centre for Paraplegia at Balgrist University Hospital, and in 2017 he qualified as a professor of paraplegiology at the University of Zurich’s Faculty of Medicine. His work places particular emphasis on interdisciplinary collaboration. His main research areas include rehabilitation technologies, predicting recovery after traumatic spinal cord injury, and developing new functional assessments.

The professorship will be a joint “bridge” position, with 30% at the University of Lucerne and 70% at Swiss Paraplegic Research. Marc Bolliger will also take over as head of Swiss Paraplegic Research (SPF) on 1 October. He succeeds Professor Gerold Stucki, who has directed SPF since 2005. Stucki is a professor of health sciences and health policy at the University of Lucerne.

Swiss Paraplegic Research (SPF) is an important partner of the University of Lucerne and its Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, where it contributes to several jointly managed bridge professorships. Based in Nottwil and supported by the Swiss Paraplegic Foundation, SPF is dedicated to clinical and holistic rehabilitation research. Its mission is to enhance functionality, social integration, health, self-determination and overall quality of life for people living with spinal cord injuries. Recognised and funded as a non-academic research institution by both the federal government and the canton, and closely affiliated with the Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, SPF plays a key role as a national centre of research in Switzerland.