Tissue engineering continues to be an exciting area of research with substantial strides in the development of new technologies in scaffolds and cell therapy. At the same time surgeons face a daily challenge in reconstructive surgery following trauma or disease and need new tissue engineering technology NOW.



Objectives:

Outline the clinicians' need for new tissue-engineered solutions to answer the challenges of modern reconstructive surgery.

Understand current and future strategies for exploiting human cells, biomaterials and natural materials in tissue engineering.

Offer a view of the integration among surgeons, cell biologists and materials scientists to identify technology gaps that restrict clinical uptake of tissue engineering now and in the future.