Research
The promise of regenerative medicine is truly remarkable. Over the last two decades, significant breakthroughs in understanding within the regenerative medicine and tissue engineering fields have yielded a more intimate understanding of the functioning of human tissue. In the future, new technologies may deliver islet cells for diabetes, neural regeneration for spinal cord injuries and more substantial heart repair. In addition, as biology, bioengineering and medicine continue to converge, the regenerative medicine field may succeed in building three dimensional organs like hearts, kidneys or livers. An investment in this field is an investment in medical research and the U.S. healthcare system. We view regenerative medicine as a one of the areas that will help the US gain a stronger, more competitive economic future and be the leader on the world stage. When founded in 1998, GTEC's focus was on replacement of tissues or growing cell-based substitutes outside the body for implantation into the body. As GTEC has evolved over the last decade, its approach has broadened from a focus on tissue engineering to one that includes repair and regeneration. This broadening into regenerative medicine is necessary due to the biological complexity of many tissues and organs. Through this evolution, GTEC has maintained its goal of developing technologies necessary for cell-based therapies, however, the center now takes several different approaches by incorporating repair and regeneration in addition to replacement.