In Situ Tissue Regeneration: Host Cell Recruitment and Biomaterial Design

Dr. Lee has extensive knowledge and experience in biomaterials science, especially, biodegradable polymers and tunable hydrogels, with specific training and expertise in key research areas for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. His research team has developed various biomaterial systems that improve cellular interactions by providing appropriate environmental cues. Dr. Lee’s research team also demonstrated the principle of “in situ tissue regeneration that is to take advantage of the body’s own regenerating capacity by using the host's ability to mobilize endogenous stem cells to the site of injury. Currently, his research has focused on development of strategies for in situ tissue regeneration in terms of mechanism of host cell recruitment, cell sourcing, cellular and molecular roles in cell differentiation, navigational cues and niche signals, and a tissue-specific smart biomaterial system from the perspective of regenerative medicine and tissue engineering.

Anthony Atala, MD, is the G. Link Professor and Director of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine. Seventeen of his lab’s technologies have been translated to patients, including the first tissue-engineered organ for permanent implantation in a human. His research led to the discovery of a multipotent source of stem cells from amniotic fluid and placenta, advances in 3D printing of tissues and organs, and body-on-a-chip technologies. His work was twice listed among Time Magazine’s top 10 medical breakthroughs of the year, and he is a recipient of the Smithsonian Ingenuity Award. He has published over 900 journal articles, is the editor of 25 books, and holds over 250 national and international patents. Dr. Atala is a member of the National Academy of Medicine, the National Academy of Inventors, and the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering.