Anthony Atala
Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine
Winston-Salem, NC USA
"Nothing I ever planned in my life turned out the way that I thought it would…just went in totally different directions at every single step."
Career Roadmap
Anthony's work combines: Medicine, Science, and Helping People
See more careers and stories that connect to your interests.
Take Roadmap Quiz
Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
Psychology, General
University of Miami
Graduate Degree
Urology Residency Program
University of Louisville
Doctorate
Urology Residency Program
Harvard University
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life has been direct
1.
Was originally inspired to go into medicine by his childhood physician, one of the few who still made house calls.
2.
Debated going into medicine, didn't know if he wanted to put so much time, schooling into it.
3.
Realized that it was his passion, and he was willing to dedicate the time required to become a doctor.
4.
Planned on doing primary care in a small community, like his childhood doctor had.
5.
As he did surgeries, he was constantly "devastated" by the fact that the tissues he was transplanting into his patients weren't ideal.
6.
Knew that there was a better way to find tissue and organ matches for his patients.
7.
Created the world's first tissue-engineered organ in 1997, started a lab regenerating new tissues and organs from patients' own cells.
8.
Likens life to his research: "Many times you go through 100 experiments before one works."
