Regenerative Medicine Transplant Research Program

Researchers in the Mayo Clinic Transplant Research Center have pioneered the study of regenerative medicine during the past five decades and continue to study new innovations in transplant medicine and surgery in the center's Regenerative Medicine Transplant Research Program.

Researchers in the Regenerative Medicine Transplant Research Program partner with stem cell biologists and researchers within the Center for Regenerative Biotherapeutics at Mayo Clinic to treat diseases using such novel therapies as stem cell therapy and bioengineering.

Research focus areas

General research areas being explored in the Regenerative Medicine Transplant Research Program include:

• How stem cells replace, repair, reprogram or renew diseased cells. Researchers are examining ways stem cell therapy can be used to prevent organ failure before transplantation and restore organ function after transplantation.
• Turning reprogrammed stem cells into specialized cells that repair or regenerate cells in the heart, liver, blood, hands and other parts of the body. For example, researchers are studying the possibility of using stem cell therapy to repair or regenerate injured heart tissue to treat many types of cardiovascular diseases, from adult acquired disorders to congenital diseases.

Specific focus areas in the program include:

• Blood and marrow transplant
• Cardiac regeneration
• Face transplant
• Hand transplant
• Hypoplastic left heart syndrome
• Larynx transplant
• Liver regeneration
• Lung regeneration

Related research

The Regenerative Medicine Transplant Research Program has several related research centers and labs at Mayo Clinic, including:

• Center for Regenerative Biotherapeutics
• Todd and Karen Wanek Family Program for Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome
• Artificial Liver and Liver Transplantation Laboratory
• Hand Transplant