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Ever since the first in vitro skin tissue was transplanted in 1981, the potential of regenerative medicine, an innovative scientific field that focuses on new approaches to repairing and replacing cells, tissues and organs, has captured the imagination of physicians and scientists. Technology development is rapidly escalating, with the ultimate purpose of delivering new therapies to patients as safely and efficiently as possible. The importance of the relatively new frontier of regenerative medicine is embodied in the unprecedented need of patients from around the world.
The Joint Commission for Health Care Organizations (JCAHO) recently declared the shortage of transplantable organs and tissues a public health crisis. There is about one death every 30 seconds due to organ failure, and complications and rejection are still significant problems. The national cost of caring for persons who might benefit from engineered tissues or organs has reached $600 billion annually. The Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine was created, in part, to deal directly with these challenges.
The Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine has all the components in place that 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, drug delivery, proteomics and medicine. Our team of researchers initially developed techniques to successfully grow autologous (from the patient) tissues in vitro for transplantation. In 1999, we performed the first successful experimental transplant of a fully compatible and functional lab-grown organ. As a result of these initiatives, a number of technologies have been brought to patients in need of tissues or organs.
Expanding on our prior work, 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 success with various engineered organs, the Institute’s Tissue Engineering and Cellular Therapy programs now span multiple systems of human physiology. Although our understanding of the basic premise of creating these tissues in the laboratory has progressed dramatically, several basic challenges drive the pursuit of tissue and organ production on a large scale. We endeavor to create more efficient ways to expand cells in vitro, and are working to develop ideal three-dimensional scaffolds that are able to mimic organ or tissue function and ensure long-term survival of engineered tissues. Other long-term benefits from our basic research will be based on nano and cell-based drug delivery technologies.
One of our most important missions is to share our novel technologies with scientific and industrial communities worldwide in order to further accelerate clinical translation to patients in need. Toward this goal, extramural collaborative research efforts are continually being pursued, as is the promotion of educational training in regenerative medicine to young and motivated scientists from around the world. The Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine Fellowship program provides Research Fellows and graduate students with hands-on experience in regenerative medical research. We have recruited an outstanding team of physicians and scientists to the Institute. Read about them and their work in these pages.
Regenerative medicine can deliver one of the most pervasive impacts on public health in the modern era. It is our hope that you will be inspired to partner with the Institute in this endeavor. |
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Anthony Atala, M.D.
Director |
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