Training the Next Generation of Scientists

Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM), part of Wake Forest University School of Medicine, is dedicated to training the next generation of scientists through collaboration and mentorship.

The WFIRM undergraduate scholars program offers undergraduate students opportunities to engage in multidisciplinary research at the interface of engineering and biology in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Participating students also are paired with a faculty mentor to work on individually tailored research and are involved in short courses and seminars on alternating topics in regenerative medicine. These students also participate in professional development workshops and complete a final research symposium and poster session.

“Here at WFIRM, it’s all about exposure; we want people to be exposed to as many different areas as they can so they can find their passion. Because you never know, that may be the thing that they do for the rest of their life.” – Anthony Atala, MD, director of Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine

Training and mentorship at WFIRM isn’t just for undergraduate students – graduate and master-level students, post-doctoral fellows and physicians can engage in advanced training and mentorship opportunities. Approximately 25% of the institute’s staff are trainees and this diverse matrix allows for varied expertise and provides innovative and pioneering care.

WFIRM is recognized as an international leader in translating scientific discovery into clinical therapies. Physicians and scientists at WFIRM were the first in the world to engineer laboratory-grown organs that were successfully implanted into humans. Today, this interdisciplinary team that numbers about 400 is working to engineer more than 40 different replacement tissues and organs, and to develop healing cell therapies – all with the goal to cure, rather than merely treat, disease.