Through an increased understanding of the molecular phenomena that govern cell and organ function, it is now possible to repair or provide replacements for tissues and organs through controlled cell growth and function, rapid and efficient delivery of proteins and genes, and the synthesis of functional materials from chemical and biological building blocks.

Research in functional tissue engineering is developing new approaches to the treatment of degenerative diseases and congenital defects — critical research that has the potential to impact more than 100 million Americans each year.

Research focuses on basic molecular and cellular processes that control the development of organisms with the goal of developing methods and approaches for assisting the healing and even replacement of functional tissues and organs.

Biologists, engineers, mathematicians, physicists and material scientists are striving to understand the basic genetic and molecular design of complex tissue and to explore the interactions of live cells with viable materials that can accommodate typical biological activity, such as growth and structural adhesion.

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