Anthony Atala is transforming the future of medicine—not just with a scalpel, but with a bioprinter. As the director of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM), he’s pushing bioprinting beyond the lab and into patients’ lives. From creating lab-grown bladders to pioneering kidney tissue for clinical trials, Atala’s work is where medical science meets the cutting edge of engineering. As a specialty pediatric surgeon, his approach isn’t just about printing cells; it’s about reshaping the possibilities of patient care, one bioprinted tissue at a time.
Dr. Anthony Atala in the Regenerative medicine laboratories at WFIRM.
Ever the visionary, Atala sees bioprinting not just as a technological marvel but as a direct solution to some of healthcare’s greatest roadblocks. In a recent interview with 3DPrint.com, he pointed to the strides made in printing more complex tissues.
For example, with vascularized structures: “The vascularity challenge was huge. Previously, anything greater than 200 microns struggled to survive long-term. Today, we can print larger structures that maintain vascularization. This breakthrough addresses one of the toughest barriers in regenerative medicine—keeping bioprinted tissues viable, functional, and ready for future use in clinical applications.”
WFIRM’s innovations span over 40 different tissues and organs, many already benefitting patients, from muscle and cartilage to advanced kidney constructs. Given that 88% of patients on the transplant waitlist need a kidney, one of WFIRM’s initial works focused on kidney constructs. Although Atala explained that his team has also worked on many other tissues, such as liver, heart, and skeletal muscle tissues to address a range of patient needs.
In fact, with WFIRM’s unique infrastructure, including a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-compliant manufacturing facility, Atala and his team can guide these technologies through every stage—from initial concept to clinical trials and, ultimately, patient treatments. While the journey is long, often taking up to 14 years, WFIRM’s approach allows patients to access cutting-edge therapies in controlled trials, ensuring safety and effectiveness every step of the way, explains the expert.
With 17 applications of WFIRM’s bioprinting technologies already reaching patients, Atala’s team is moving steadily toward more widespread applications. Clinical trials span from pilot studies to advanced Phase 3 clinical trials, signaling that many of these technologies could be available within the next decade.
Atala pointed out, “While this timeline is long, each step is a crucial safeguard, ensuring that engineered tissues are safe, effective, and ready for the medical challenges ahead.”
In 2023, Atala and his team were awarded the prestigious KidneyX Track 2 $1 million prize for their work on a 3D kidney construct platform. This innovation holds the potential to accelerate the regeneration of artificial kidneys, addressing the critical shortage of donor organs.
Additionally, WFIRM has made strides in wound healing research. In October 2023, they published a study in Science Translational Medicine detailing the development of full-thickness human bioprinted skin. This bioprinted skin promotes skin regeneration, vascularization, and the formation of epidermal rete ridges in full-thickness wounds, offering a promising solution for patients with severe skin injuries.
Kidney created by WFIRM.
Atala’s dual roles as a surgeon and researcher give him a unique perspective. He continues to see patients, bridging the gap between clinical needs and bioprinting technology.
“Staying active in clinical practice keeps us in tune with where medicine is headed and ensures that our research aligns with patient needs, like treating patients with severe organ damage and limited transplant options. This hands-on approach fuels WFIRM’s mission to create bioprinted tissues that meet rigorous clinical standards and make a difference in patient outcomes.”
When asked about the need for fully functional bioprinted organs, Atala explains, “You don’t need the entire organ. Just enhancing the organ’s function beyond that critical 10% threshold can often restore a patient’s quality of life.”
A member of the WFIRM team operates with the bioprinter.
In many cases, organ failure occurs only after 90% of the organ has lost functionality. Atala illustrated this with an example: “A patient might play tennis every week and suddenly experience chest pain. They go to the hospital, have an angiogram, and find that a blood vessel is 90% blocked. Interestingly, the patient didn’t experience symptoms until it reached that level.”
Similarly, with organs like kidneys or lungs, enhancing function to above 10% can allow patients to resume normal activities without requiring a full transplant. This approach opens up a faster, more achievable pathway for treatments, especially for patients on long transplant waiting lists. So, according to the expert, they wouldn’t need to engineer a whole organ, “just enough to get the patient over that hump.”
His approach challenges the idea that patients always need a full organ transplant. Instead, boosting organ function with lab-grown tissue could mean fewer invasive surgeries and faster recovery times.
Young-Joon Seol at the WFIRM demonstrates Bioprinting muscle tissue.
WFIRM’s approach is “uniquely holistic,” with Atala describing it as an “equal omics opportunity,” where they integrate genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and even lipidomics to understand the whole biological profile of each bioprinted tissue. This comprehensive analysis makes sure that tissues maintain normal functions and adapt well to the body: “We really do look at everything we can. These insights are crucial for ensuring our printed tissues meet the standards needed for real-world applications.”
AI and machine learning also play a pivotal role at WFIRM, where they are used to study cell behavior and predict tissue responses.
“AI helps us see the features that emerge during tissue formation, allowing us to refine our techniques,” Atala explained. “By leveraging these technologies, we can anticipate and resolve potential challenges before they become barriers, paving the way for smoother transitions from bench to bedside.”
Regenerative Medicine Essentials course with Dr. Anthony Atala.
Meanwhile, the expert’s groundbreaking work isn’t confined to the Earth alone; it has reached outer space. Collaborating with NASA, WFIRM sent bioprinted liver tissue samples to the International Space Station (ISS). The goal? To understand how microgravity might accelerate tissue growth and vascularization, two essential factors for developing complex organs.
This research is part of a broader series of experiments supported by NASA to uncover how space’s microgravity could improve tissue engineering practices back on Earth.
“For the NASA vascular challenge, we engineered a piece of tissue that could survive outside the body for at least one month—no small feat, considering tissues typically rely on blood vessels and nerves for survival in patients.”
This durability was only possible thanks to WFIRM’s custom-built bioprinters, which Atala and his team spent 14 years developing in-house.
“We’ve poured years into creating printers that can handle the complexities of human tissues. These customized machines allow us to tailor the bioprinting process precisely to the needs of each tissue type, which is what sets them apart from commercial bioprinters.”
In fact, almost everything Atala uses in the lab was built on-site. The team does have some commercial bioprinters for routine research procedures, but when it comes to printing tissue, they rely entirely on the custom bioprinters built by WFIRM’s engineers.
“We spent a lot of time developing those technologies for good viability, functionality, and vascularization, and many of the features we worked on are now being used in commercial printers. This is a good thing, and we’re happy about that,” Atala concluded. “The hardware, bioinks, and software have all advanced—it takes a village.”
In the world of regenerative medicine, Atala stands as a pioneer, continually setting new benchmarks. His holistic approach, paired with a relentless commitment to research and patient care, keeps Atala and WFIRM at the forefront of bioprinting, shaping the future of medicine.
All images courtesy of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine.
Subscribe to Our Email Newsletter
Stay up-to-date on all the latest news from the 3D printing industry and receive information and offers from third party vendors.
