The Future of Bioengineering

I read with interest Bruce Agnew's article “NIH plans bioengineering initiative” (News & Comment, 5 June, [p. 1516][1]). I agree completely with Douglas Lauffenburger's statement (sidebar, p. 1517) that the way to make advances in bioengineering is to integrate fundamental research in biology and engineering. The current vision of engineers for bioengineering is fragmented and excludes important areas of research. Coherent bioengineering research and academic programs should encompass bionics, solid organ transplantation, and what I have called regenerative biology ([1][2]), which uses the strategies of cell transplantation (cells alone or as part of bioartificial tissues) and the stimulation of regeneration from residual tissues in vivo. These areas depend, to various overlapping degrees, on basic research advances in materials science, immunology, and developmental biology, including the biology of stem cells, cell adhesion, and molecular signals regulating cell-cycle control, differentiation, and pattern formation. Despite the tremendous interdisciplinary nature of bioengineering, most bioengineering programs are built almost exclusively around an engineering-medical school relationship. While this combination has been a natural one, it tends to ignore important research and educational contributions made by investigators in other basic science departments. One example of this has been the absence from many bioengineering programs of research on models of animals that have unique powers of regeneration, such as flatworms and amphibians. Basic research on these animal models needs to be brought into the mix, because it will contribute to our ability to achieve a wider range and greater degree of regeneration of mammalian tissues in vivo , as well as help provide answers to fundamental biological questions. And we need a wider vision of bioengineering collaborations that includes biology, chemistry, and physics departments as full partners if we are to maximize our success. We will be more successful in this endeavor if we do not create a separate bioengineering institute within the National Institute of Engineering. 1. [↵][3]1. D. L. Slocum , Science 276, 15 (1997); in Cellular and Molecular Basis for Regeneration: From Invertebrates to Huyiztitis,; [OpenUrl][4][CrossRef][5][PubMed][6][Web of Science][7] 1. P. Ferretti, 2. J. Geraudic , Eds. (Wiley, Chichester, UK, 1998), pp. 411–450. [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.280.5369.1516 [2]: #ref-1 [3]: #xref-ref-1-1 "View reference 1 in text" [4]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DScience%26rft.stitle%253DScience%26rft.aulast%253DStocum%26rft.auinit1%253DD.%2BL.%26rft.volume%253D276%26rft.issue%253D5309%26rft.spage%253D15%26rft.epage%253D0%26rft.atitle%253DNew%2BTissues%2Bfrom%2BOld%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Adoi%252F10.1126%252Fscience.276.5309.15%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Apmid%252F9122693%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx [5]: /lookup/external-ref?access_num=10.1126/science.276.5309.15&link_type=DOI [6]: /lookup/external-ref?access_num=9122693&link_type=MED&atom=%2Fsci%2F281%2F5374%2F175.4.atom [7]: /lookup/external-ref?access_num=A1997WR38600001&link_type=ISI