His field of interest is the biology of pluripotent and neural stem cells and their application for neuroregeneration. In 1999, Brüstle employed a model of a childhood myelin disease to demonstrate for the first time that embryonic stem cell-derived neural cells can be used for nervous system repair.
His scientific contributions relating to the controlled differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells into neural stem cells, neurons and glia provide an important basis for the application of ES and iPS cells for disease-related research and the development of cell-based therapies. Brüstle is considered a pioneer in the area of stem cell research. Beyond his internationally recognized scientific publications he has contributed significantly to public acceptance and implementation of this sensitive research field in Germany.