Dr. Anthony Atala is a pioneering leader in regenerative medicine and a globally recognized authority in tissue engineering and organ fabrication. He serves as the W. Boyce Professor and Chair of the Department of Urology at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and as the G. Link Professor and Director of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine. Trained as a pediatric urologist and surgeon at the University of Louisville where he completed both medical school and residency, Dr. Atala has built one of the world's most comprehensive regenerative medicine research programs. Under his leadership, his institute has expanded to include more than 400 researchers dedicated to developing cell therapies and engineering replacement tissues for over 40 different areas of the human body.
Dr. Atala is internationally celebrated for creating the first lab-grown organ, a bladder, successfully implanted into human patients, representing a paradigm shift in medical treatment approaches. His groundbreaking development of the Integrated Tissue and Organ Printing System (ITOP) established the foundation for 3D bioprinting of human tissues and organs, with seventeen applications from his laboratory translated into clinical practice across multiple surgical specialties. With over 800 peer-reviewed publications and more than 250 patents to his name, his research has fundamentally transformed regenerative medicine, with his work twice recognized as Time Magazine's top 10 medical breakthroughs of the year. His laboratory's innovations span from engineered cartilage and urethras to vaginas, demonstrating the broad clinical applicability of his tissue engineering approaches.
As a thought leader, Dr. Atala has edited 25 influential books including Principles of Regenerative Medicine and serves as Editor-in-Chief for Stem Cells-Translational Medicine and BioPrinting. His leadership extends to directing the Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine, a federally funded initiative applying regenerative medicine to military healthcare challenges, and serving on the editorial board of Rejuvenation Research. Elected to both the National Academy of Medicine and the National Academy of Inventors, he has received numerous prestigious honors including the Christopher Columbus Foundation Award, Edison Science/Medical Award, and Smithsonian Ingenuity Award. Currently, his laboratory continues to pioneer new approaches to grow human cells, tissues, and organs for clinical therapy while developing innovative body-on-a-chip technologies that promise to revolutionize drug testing and personalized medicine applications.
