Jacob Resch is originally from Spirit Lake, Iowa. Resch completed his undergraduate degrees in athletic training and health promotions as well as his M.S. in Exercise and Sport Science at South Dakota State University. Resch then pursued his doctorate in exercise science at the University of Georgia where he investigated clinical measures of sport related concussion and became involved with the global efforts to expand the profession of athletic training.

Resch then joined the faculty of the University of Texas at Arlington for four years where he taught within the athletic training education program and conducted research addressing sport related concussion in middle school, high school, and collegiate athletes. In 2014, Resch joined the faculty at the University of Virginia's Department of Kinesiology where he continues to investigate clinical measures and recovery from sport related concussion and teaches withing the Kinesiology major and graduate athletic training and sports medicine programs.

The focus of Resch's research is to investigate the measurement properties of current and novel clinical measures of sport related concussion in athletes at all levels of sport as well as military personnel. Resch's previous studies have addressed the measurement properties of neurocognitive, balance and symptom measures in young and adult athletes. Resch is currently investigating novel biosignals inclusive of advanced neuroimaging, biofluids, and wearables that may provide insight into more efficient and cost-effective measures of sport related concussion to identify a sensitive clinical measure that aligns clinical and physiological recovery. Resch is also an active member of the National Athletic Trainers' Association.