Ed Wirth

About Ed Wirth

Dr. Edward Wirth completed the M.D./Ph.D. program at the University of Florida (UF) in 1994. He elected to remain at UF to conduct postdoctoral research, and subsequently joined the faculty there in 1996. From 1997 to 2002, Dr. Wirth led the UF team that performed the first human embryonic spinal cord transplant in the United States. This pilot study demonstrated the feasibility and safety of implanting embryonic spinal cord cells into patients with post-traumatic syringomyelia (a complication of spinal cord injury). From 2002 to 2004, Dr. Wirth held academic appointments at RushPresbyterian St. Luke’s Medical Center and at the University of Chicago. From 20••••11, he served as Medical Director for Regenerative Medicine at Geron Corporation, where he led the world’s first clinical trial of a human embryonic stem cell (hESC)-derived product. He subsequently served as Chief Science Officer at InVivo Therapeutics from 20••••12.In 2013 he joined several former Geron colleagues at Asterias Biotherapeutics, which had acquired the stem cell assets of Geron. He served as Asterias\' Chief Translational Officer from 20••••15 and Chief Medical Officer from 20••••19. At Asterias he led the expansion and completion of the former Geron clinical trial, which demonstrated the initial clinical safety and activity of OPC1 (formerly GRNOPC1 & AST-OPC1), which contains hESC-derived oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs), in patients with subacute spinal cord injuries. He next served at Chief Medical Officer at Lineage Cell Therapeutics (formerly BioTime), which acquired Asterias in March 2019.Dr. Wirth joined Aspen Neuroscience as Chief Medical Officer in January, 2020. At Aspen he led the design and launch of the world\'s first multicenter, multipatient clinical trial of autologous, iPSC-derived, dopamine neuron precursor cells in Parkinson Disease. As part of that effort, he collaborated with Dr. Paul Larson to develop a novel imaging-guided surgical approach for delivery of cells to the putamen in which the injections are tailored to each patient\'s anatomy.Specialties: Clinical trials; translational research; stem cells; cell based therapies; magnetic resonance imaging; spinal cord injury; neurological disorders; Parkinson Disease; induced pluripotent stem cells

Experience

1. Senior Clinical Advisor

   Aspen Neuroscience, Inc

   Dec 2025 — Present

Education

• Rollins College

  Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Physics

  1982 — 1986

Skills

• Medicine
• Life Sciences
• Clinical Development
• Neuroscience
• Lifesciences
• Drug Development
• Gcp
• Clinical Trials
• Clinical Research
• Immunology
• Surgery
• Biotechnology
• Stem Cells
• Cell
• Oncology
• Translational Research
• Science
• Translational Medicine
• Regenerative Medicine