In 2009, the Georgia Tech & Emory Center for the Engineering of Living Tissues became the Georgia Tech/Emory Collaboration for Regenerative Medicine. The collaboration helps develop critical technologies related to tissue engineering for the medical implant industry and for regenerative medicine. The center’s researchers are pursuing the potential use of engineered tissue to aid a wide range of patients – from those needing cardiovascular tissues, such as blood vessels and heart valves, to those needing orthopedic tissue, such as bone and cartilage, to those needing repair and regeneration of tissues in the peripheral and central nervous systems. Center researchers are also examining the possibilities of cell-based therapies to treat diabetes and other diseases.

The center was established in 1998 as a National Science Foundation (NSF) Engineering Research Center.

Institutions involved: Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory University.
The center also partners with the University of Georgia, the Atlanta University Center, Morehouse School of Medicine, Morehouse College and Spelman College.

Research focus: The center’s primary research areas include:

• Cardiovascular engineered tissues, such as blood vessels, myocardium and heart valves
• Cell-based therapies for the treatment of diabetes and other conditions 
• Orthopedic tissue engineering of bone and cartilage
• Neural tissue repair and regeneration of the peripheral and central nervous systems

GRA investment: GRA Eminent Scholar Barbara D. Boyan  (Georgia Institute of Technology) serves as Deputy Director for Research for the collaboration; GRA also has provided matching funds to bring this national program to Georgia. 

External funding: The GTEC has attracted $114 million in federal funding to Georgia and has partnered with some 21 companies in related industries. The National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health and other federal agencies are the major sources of funding. Private research funding sources include the Arthritis Foundation, the National Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and industry partners.

Web site: http://www.gtec.gatech.edu/