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, and the W. Boyce Professor and Chair of Urology. Dr. Atala is a practicing surgeon and a researcher in the area of regenerative medicine. Fifteen applications of technologies developed in Dr. Atala's laboratory have been used clinically. He is Editor of 25 books and 3 journals. Dr. Atala has published over 800 journal articles and has received over 250 national and international patents. Dr. Atala was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Sciences, to the National Academy of Inventors as a Charter Fellow, and to the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering. Dr. Atala has led or served several national professional and government committees, including the National Institutes of Health working group on Cells and Developmental Biology, the National Institutes of Health Bioengineering Consortium, and the National Cancer Institute’s Advisory Board. He is a founding member of the Tissue Engineering Society, Regenerative Medicine Foundation, Regenerative Medicine Manufacturing Innovation Consortium, Regenerative Medicine Development Organization, and Regenerative Medicine Manufacturing Society.