Anthony Atala, M.D., director of the Institute for Regenerative Medicine at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, will present a lecture from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. on Friday Oct. 19 on the science of growing new tissues and organs in the laboratory. The talk, in Babcock Auditorium on the Medical Center campus, is free and open to the public. Atala will speak on “Regenerative Medicine: New Approaches in Healthcare for the 21st Century,” as part of the opening session of Alumni Weekend, an event in which about 400 graduates of the Wake Forest University School of Medicine will return to campus for reunions. Atala’s current work focuses on growing new human cells, tissues and organs (including kidney, blood vessels, cartilage, muscle, bladder, pancreas, and others) to repair or replace tissues or organs damaged by age, cancer, trauma, or abnormal development. In addition to his research in regenerative medicine, Atala is the W.H. Boyce Professor and chairman of the Depa