Regenerative medicine seeks to understand how and why stem cells differentiate into specialized tissues and to harness this potential for a wide variety of medical applications. Advances in regenerative medicine have the potential to prevent birth defects, retard damage to diseased tissues, repair injured tissues, enhance the metabolic or biomechanical function of tissues, and manipulate normal and abnormal tissue growth processes. Research in regenerative medicine occurs from the molecular level to clinical applications. Ongoing research at Stanford includes:

Genetic regulation of signaling systems involved in cell proliferation, differentiation, and patterning of tissues
Tissue engineering for the treatment of osteoarthritis
Understanding how mechanical loading affects the growth, development, regeneration, and aging of skeletal tissues
Enhancing neurogenesis through electrical and chemical stimulation
Development of biologically-based therapies to prevent or reduce pathological scar formation
Application of stem cell technologies to in vitro tissue production and the generation of specific cell types for therapeutic use

Bioengineering faculty members working in this area are

Jennifer Cochran
Karl Deisseroth
Christopher Jacobs (or see the Jacobs Lab Page)
James Swartz (or see the Swartz lab page)
Paul Yock (or see the Yock lab page)