LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR

Ever since the first engineered skin tissue was transplanted in 1981, the potential of regenerative medicine, an innovative scientific field focusing on new approaches to repairing and replacing cells, tissues and organs, has captured the imagination of physicians and scientists worldwide. Technologies for engineering tissues are developing rapidly, with the ultimate goal of delivering new therapies into patients as safely and efficiently as possible.


The Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine has all the components in place to allow basic and clinical research to work in concert. The environment fosters multidisciplinary collaboration and, most importantly, facilitates the transfer of technologies emerging from this research to the patients who need them. To accelerate the development of new therapies, the programs at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine stimulate interaction between scientists in the fields of biomedical and chemical engineering, cell and molecular biology, biochemistry, physiology, materials science, nanotechnology, genomics, proteomics, drug delivery, surgery and medicine.

Current research at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine focuses on a wide range of engineered tissues with the aim of making a lasting impact on conditions ranging from congenital abnormalities to acquired pathologies such as infection, tumors, trauma and chronic diseases. As a result of our preliminary successes, tissue engineering and cellular therapy programs now span multiple organ systems. Despite the dramatic progression in our understanding of the basic conditions needed to create these tissues in the laboratory, several basic challenges drive the pursuit of tissue and organ production on a large scale. We endeavor to create more efficient ways to enhance cell growth and function in vitro, and are working to develop ideal three-dimensional scaffolds that will allow engineered tissues to mimic tissue and organ function while ensuring long-term survival of the engineered tissues. Other long-term benefits from our basic research are arising from nanotechnology and cell-based drug delivery systems.

One of our most important missions is to share our novel technologies with scientific and industrial communities worldwide to further accelerate clinical translation to patients in need. Toward this goal, we continuously pursue extramural collaborative research efforts along with education and training in regenerative medicine for motivated young scientists from around the world.

Regenerative medicine promises to be one of the most pervasive influences on public health in the modern era. It is our hope that you will be inspired to partner with the Institute and I invite you to discover more about the Institute in these pages.

Sincerely,
Anthony Atala, M.D.
Director