Anthony Atala, a medical researcher whose work has focused on growing new human cells to repair damaged tissue and organs, will discuss his work during a lecture titled “Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine: New Healthcare Approaches for the 21st Century” at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 14 in Whitley Auditorium on the Elon University campus. The event, which is cosponsored by the Piedmont Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, is free and open to the public.
Atala is W.H. Boyce Professor and director of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. He has done extensive research on growing new cells, tissues and organs, including kidney, blood vessels, muscle and pancreas, to repair or replace tissues and organs damaged by age, disease or abnormal development. He heads a team of 80 physicians and researchers.
Atala is vice president and serves on the board of directors of the Society of Regenerative Medicine. He has served on several national professional and government committees, including the National Institutes of Health working group on cells and developmental biology. He has edited six books and published more than 200 journal articles or book chapters. Atala has received numerous awards and honors, including the Christopher Columbus Foundation Award, presented to an American whose research work will have a significant impact on society.
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