Author: Anthony Atala

Dr. Anthony Atala is widely recognized as a true groundbreaker in stem cell research and regenerative medicine. He led the team that grew the first lab-grown organ to be implanted into a human. Aside from being involved in many of the field’s top journals, he has devoted the last several decades of his career to the development of sustainable organs grown from a patient’s own stem cells – technology that has the potential to solve the problem of patients dying while waiting for organs as well as the common organ transplant complication of rejection. Dr. Atala received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Miami and his medical degree from the University of Louisville, where he completed his residency in urology. While a Fellow at Harvard Medical School, he trained with renowned pediatric urologic surgeons and eventually became Director of the Laboratory for Tissue Engineering and Cellular Therapeutics at Children”s Hospital Boston, where his work involved the growing of human tissue and organs to replace those damaged through disease or defect. After that, Dr. Atala moved to Wake Forest, and it was there that he and his team developed the lab-grown bladder that was implanted in a human. A prolific author and editor of journal articles and books, Dr. Atala is the recipient of multiple awards and patents, presented an ovation-receiving TED lecture, and has been featured on 60 Minutes. His accomplishments also include being ranked as the 56th most influential person of the year in a Time Magazine poll and being ranked by Esquire Magazine as one of the 75 most influential persons of the 21st century. Dr. Sean V. Murphy received his Ph.D. from Monash University, Melbourne, Australia and is currently a Research Fellow at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine in North Carolina, USA. His research focuses on the clinical application of perinatal cells and tissues for the treatment of injury and disease. Dr. Murphy has received numerous awards and fellowships, most notably an American Lung Association Senior Research Training Fellowship, and an American Australian Association Sir Keith Murdoch Fellowship. Dr. Murphy is Director/Secretary and Founder of the International Perinatal Stem Cell Society, Chair of the Scientific & Professional Development Committee for the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society (TERMIS) and serves on the editorial board of multiple international journals.