Dr. Atala is a practicing surgeon, researcher, and director of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine. His current work focuses on growing new human cells, tissues, and organs. He is Editor­-in-­Chief of Stem Cells Translational Medicine and Current Stem Cell Research and Therapy. In 2011, he was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. Dr. Atala’s work has been included twice in Time magazine’s top 10 medical breakthroughs of the year. He was featured in U.S. News & World Report as one of 14 Pioneers of Medical Progress in the 21st Century. Over 10 applications of technologies developed in his laboratory have been used clinically. He is the editor of 20 books, has published over 400 journal articles, and has applied for or received over 200 national and international patents.