Wake Forest's Atala Named to Power List

Anthony Atala, MD, director of the Institute for Regenerative Medicine, has been named to AARP Magazine’s “Power List – 50 People Who Make Your Life Better.”

Atala is one of 10 people over age 50 recognized for “Moving Us to a Healthier Future” for his team’s work to engineer replacement organs in the lab. AARP is one of the top-circulation magazines in the U.S., with more than 23 million readers.  More.

Major nanotech commercialization conference brings global attention to NC

The annual Commercialization of Micro-Nano Systems Conference (COMS 2011) is being held Aug 28-31 in Greensboro. It has shaped up to be a who’s who of the micro-nano technology community, bringing together leaders in North Carolina with those from around the globe. Plenary Speakers include: Anthony Atala, MD; Joseph M. DeSimone, PhD; and Paul M. Zavracky, PhD.

North Carolina is already a top player in nanotechnology, ranked fourth behind only Silicon Valley, Boston, and Houston. It is poised to become one of the major centers in the field, according to industry experts. Landing the COMS event for the state is a significant step. More.

Atala Featured on "The Innovators" a Bloomberg News program

Dr. Anthony Atala was featured recently on " The Innovators" a program of Bloomberg News. Bloomberg News says "the world is swirling with ideas on how to make money, but true innovation changes the way we live."

The program discusses how Atala engineers human organs and the latest organ (the liver) to be tackled after his work with urethras, kidneys, and bladders. Atala concludes by asking a question that defines the true mission of his work: "How can we increase the number of tissues we bring to patients and how can we make more patients benefit from these technologies?"

World's First Tissued Engineered Urethras Deemed A Success

First bladders, now urethras. A research team form the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine built engineered urethras (urinary tubes) for five boys using their own cells. After six years , all five boys are doing well and functioning normally. The alternative would have been an artificial graft with a 50% chance of failure or a lifetime of urinary tract infections and incontinence issues.

Dr. Anthony Atala remarked " This is an example of how the strategies of tissue engineering can be applied to multiple tissues and organs."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-12666171http://

TED Touts Printing a Human Kidney

In the last ten years, the number of patients needing organ donations has more than doubled, yet the number of organ transplants has not proportionately increased. Every day patients die waiting for an organ donation. Dr. Anthony Atala asks the question,"Can we grow the organs instead of transplanting them?"

See a 3D printer output a human kidney. Meet Luke, a patient with an engineered bladder, healthy and well, ten years later. http://www.ted.com/talks/anthony_atala_printing_a_human_kidney.html

From Bladders to Bowels... Newsweek Notes the Potential of Regenerative Medicine

In "The Race to Grow New Organs" Newsweek magazine talks about recent progress in the field growing new organs and mentions Anthony Atala and Wake Forest's Insitute of Regenerative Medicine.
http://www.newsweek.com/2010/12/07/future-of-medicine-growing-new-organs.html