The Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM) is an international leader that focuses on research programs to develop replacement tissues and organs. It’s an urgent need with a significant potential to heal, and your gift can help us translate scientific discovery into clinical therapies that save patients’ lives.  

A block of clear material has a whiteish substance inside, and the block is held between two pieces of clear material with screws. A blue ruler beside shows that the entire unit measures about 5.5 inchesPhysicians and scientists at WFIRM were the first in the world to engineer laboratory-grown organs successfully implanted into humans. Today, this interdisciplinary team that numbers about 400 is working to engineer more than 40 different replacement tissues and organs, and to develop healing cell therapies – all with the goal to cure, rather than merely treat, disease. 

Our researchers have successfully engineered replacement tissues and organs and developed multiple applications of cell/tissue therapy technologies—including skin, urethras, cartilage, bladders, muscle, kidneys and vaginal organs—successfully used in human patients. 

Today, we continue to develop replacement tissues and organs and to speed up the availability of these treatments to patients. For example, we have a support infrastructure, including a clinical manufacturing center, designed to accelerate the translation of discoveries. For example, we are:

  • Leading a multi-center, results-focused program for the military that requires that discoveries be tested and compared so that the most promising therapies can be brought to clinical trials.
  • Leading a five-center effort to print mini-organs for drug testing. The lessons learned can be applied to replacement organs for patients.
Blonde woman in bright pink shirt smiles at camera with trees, people and a brick building in the backgroundBy successfully combining her skills and interests in medicine, business and volunteer work, Ann Austin Flynt left an indelible mark on her community. As part of her estate plans, she established an endowed fund at Wake Forest Baptist Health. The Ann Austin Flynt Endowed Fund provides unrestrictive support for Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM).

Ann Flynt (philanthropic supporter)
Read her story.