A Record of “World Firsts”
Physicians and scientists at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine are developing organs and tissues for virtually every part of the human body. The team's track record includes many “world firsts." This world-renowned team has engineered replacement tissues and organs in all four categories: flat structures, tubular tissue, and hollow and solid organs.
● Led a team of researchers that was the first in the world to successfully engineer urine tubes (urethras) in the laboratory and implant them in patients. (2011: reported long-term results; 2004: first implantation)
● First team in the world to engineer functional experimental solid organs (miniature livers and penile erectile tissue) using a strategy of recycling donor organs, with potential applications to other organs, including the kidney and pancreas. (2010)
● Selected to co-lead the Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine, an $85 million, federally funded project to apply the science of regenerative medicine to battlefield injuries. (2008)
● Identified and characterized a new class of stem cells derived from amniotic fluid and placenta, which show promise for the treatment of many diseases. (2007)
● Founder of the Regenerative Medicine Foundation, a non-profit created to enable the advancement of new treatments and therapies based on regenerative medicine, and ultimately, to realize the goals of personalized medicine. (2005)
● Led the first team to engineer tubular organs (urine tubes) and implant them in patients. (2004)
● First to create a functional solid organ experimentally, a miniature kidney that secretes urine. (2003)
● First to engineer functional blood vessels that were implanted pre-clinically and survived long-term. (2001)
● First team to create a laboratory-grown organ -- engineered bladder tissue -- that was successfully implanted in patients. (1999)
● First to use biomaterials alone, without the addition of cells, in patients for the regeneration of tissues. (1996)
● Developed the first tissue-engineered product to go to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for approval for clinical applications, consisting of cells and biomaterials for injectable therapy. (1995)
● First to demonstrate that complex tissue structures can be engineered using cells. (1994)